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^ISTO^

OF

CALHOUN COUNTY

MICHIGAN.

DESCRIPTIVE OF ITS SCENERY,

* JL JL t A

FROM ORIGINAL SKETCHES BY ARTISTS OF THE HIGHEST ABILITY.

PHILADELPHIA:
Xj. H. IE "V" IE IR, T S &C CO.,

716 FILBERT STREET.

^ "

PRESS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., PHILADELPHIA.

*

PREFACE.

To the citizens of Calhoun County, who have so generously con-
tributed, in various ways, and so courteously aided us in our efforts to
gather reliable data from which to compile this work, we tender our
heartiest acknowledgments. We are under obligations, and hereby
acknowledge the same, to Hon. Charles Dickey, judge of probate;
Charles McDermid, Esq., county clerk; Earl Smith, Esq., county treas-
urer; Stephen F. Snyder, register of deeds; Charles D. Holmes, Esq.,
late register of deeds ; Rev. John D. Pierce, of Ypsilanti ; Hon. S. S.
Lacey, secretary of the Pioneer Society; Hon. Erastus Hussey, Hon. W.
H. Brown, Dr. Edward Cox, Rev. W. H. Perrine, D.D., M. A. Lane,
Esq., editor of the Index ; Judge T. W. Hall, and many others, for
information most cheerfully given, and assistance rendered in the com-
pilation of the general history of the county.

Had we the space we would with pleasure make acknowledgment
by name to each of the many persons who have rendered us material aid
in our historical researches, also to the many published sources of the
information compiled and presented to the public in this volume; but it
would cover pages and add bulk to an already voluminous work.

We have garnered from every available source (in many cases a mere
sentence only), confining ourselves as far as possible to original material,
depending largely upon the memories of old settlers, and those whose
lives and associations have made them familiar with the subjects por-
trayed. We have also, so far as practicable, classified all matter,
although the labor of compilation has been materially increased thereby.
Yet we feel assured that our work as a book of reference receives an
added value that will more than compensate us for the increased labor
and expense. We have also endeavored to make the history of each
town and village after its organization up to present date complete in

itself, without too much recapitulation ; to avoid this entirely were im-
possible, though we trust that it occurs to no considerable extent.

Some incidents and anecdotes have been related more with the design
to illustrate the past than to amuse the reader, for w r e have aimed only to
show and trace the method of the change in a concise, unpretentious
way : how and by whom the wilderness has been changed to the garden,
the log cabin to the brownstone front, the track through the forest
and the lone postal rider to the iron rail, fast mail, and electric wire
with its lightning messenger, — the lands of the red men to the homes of
the white. Honor and credit are certainly due to some. We have
named many, but not all, — only a few of the leading spirits, whom
to associate with was to be one of. Too much honor cannot be rendered
them.

Instructions to our historians were, " Write truthfully and impartially
of every one and on every subject." Their instructions have been as
faithfully executed as was possible, and while some may have been
omitted who should have had a place in these pages, yet especial pains
has been taken to make it otherwise.

We expect criticism. All we ask is that it be done in charity, after
weighing all contingencies, obstacles, and hindrances that may have
been involved ; for if our patrons will take into account all the diffi-
culties we have had to overcome, — the impossibility of harmonizing
inharmonious memories, of reconciling perverse figures and stubborn
facts, of remembering all the fathers and grandfathers where there are
so many to remember, and, finally, the uncertainty of all human calcu-
lations and the shortcomings of even the most perfect, — we shall be

content with their verdict.

THE PUBLISHERS.

Philadelphia, July 1, 1877.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

HISTORICAL .A-lsTD DESOBIPTIYE.

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY.

PAGE

Chapter I. — Civilization — Its Progress — First intro-
duction into Michigan — First Permanent Settle-
ment — Ordinance of 1787 — Organization of Ter-
ritory — Counties and Townships — Adoption of
Constitution — Development of State ... 9

Chapter II. — Abstract of Title— French, English,
Colonial, and Indian Titles to Land in the North-
west — First Legal Conveyance in Michigan —
Land Surveys and Sales—Military Report on
Amount of Good Land 10, 11

Chapter III. — Ancient Fortifications — Mysterious
People — The Indians of Calhoun ; their Position
in the Black Hawk War— A Big Injun— Trails . 11, 12

Chapter IV. — Pioneer Settlements — Improvised
Shelter for Cooking — Early Journeyings — First
Houses — First Marriage — Ague vs. Matrimony —
A Justice beyond his Bailiwick — First White
Births — First Deaths — A Midnight Burial — The
First Cemetery . 12-14

Chapter V. — Means of Communication — Roads —
Trails— Bridges — T avern s — Mail Ro utes — Stage-
Coaches — Post-Offices — Railroads — Steamboat
Navigation on the Kalamazoo . . . 14, 15

Chapter VI. — First Land Entries — First Farms —
Live Stock — The Hen Fever — Fruit — Improved
Farm Machinery — Products of the Present —
Manufactures — Pioneer Artisans — Traders —
Manufactures of the Present — Banking: State,
Wild-Cat, National 15-18

Chapter VII. — Civil Organization — County and
Township Boundaries— First Official Act — Ear-
liest dated Deed — First Village Plats — The
Courts: Circuit, County, and Probate — Cele-
brated Causes — Board of Supervisors — Assess-
ments and Taxes — County Buildings — Court-
House, Jail, and Almshouse — Superintendents
of the Poor . 18-22

Chapter VIII. — Official Roster: First Justices,
County Officers, National and State Officials in
Calhoun— Politics — Underground Railroad — At-
tempted Kidnapping — Presidential Elections —
A Curious Ballot — Population . . * . . 22-25

Chapter IX. — Educational and Religious : The First
School— Statistics of 1876— The First Sermon-
First Religious Society— First Church — Pioneer
Preachers — Albion College — Seventh-Day Ad-
ventist College . 25-29

Chapter X. — Professional : The Bar ; The Pulpit . 29-32

Chapter XL — The Press: Patriot and Expounder;
Statesman; Journal; Tribune; Mirror; Re-
corder j Index ; Advent Review and Publications 32-34

Chapter XII. — Societies : Agricultural, Reforma-
tory, Educational, Political, Protective, Secret,
Historical, Health Reform . . ... . 34-37

Chapter XIII. — Topography — Drainage — Soil —
Timber — Geology — Area — Geography — Clima-
tology—Fauna . . . . . . .37,38

Chapter XIV. — Reminiscence — Cholera — Pioneer
Visiting — Social Parties — First Ball — Independ-
ence Day — A Bear Fight — Bruin and the Lovers
— Wolves — Tribulations of Pioneer Courtship . 38, 39

Chapter XV.— The Patriotism of Calhoun: First
Volunteers of Michigan — Black Hawk War —
Toledo War— Militia— Mexican War— The Re-
bellion 39-48

Chapter XVI.— Conclusion 48, 49

TOWNSHIP HISTORIES.

PAGE

City and Township of Marshall 50-78

City and Township of Battle Creek .... 79-104

Albion Township 105-112

L ee " 113-115

Athens " 116-120

Homer " 121-124

Marengo " 125-133

Eckford " 134-141

Sheridan " 142-146

Tekonsha " 147-152

Convis " 153-156

Burlington " 157-160

Fredonia " 161-165

Le Roy " 166-172

Newton " . . ... . . . 173.175

Pennfield " 176-180

Emmett " 181-185

Clarendon " 186-190

Clarence " 191-193

Bedford " ....... 194-198

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

Angell, Nedebiah 80

Austin, Hon. Charles . . . . . . . 99

Anderson, Jacob 109

Abbott, Reuben 144

Atmore, Matthew 178

Aldrich, Russell 190

Brewer, Chauncey M 74, 75

Burpee, Samuel J 76

Barney, Nathaniel 80

Beach, M.D., Asahel 100

Beach, M.D., John 101

Beach, E. Darwin 101

Burr, Rufus 145, 146

Billinghurst, Daniel 144

Bevier, John facing 169

Barnum, Thomas B 170

Curtis, Benjamin F 73

Cook, Asa B 75

Convis, General Ezra 80

Convis, Samuel 179

Clark, A. L 102

Crosby, Charles H 104

Church, Chandler M 145

Chamberlin, Benjamin 175

Cox, John 197

Crossman, L. G 133

Chapin, Samuel 131

Chisholm, Thomas 131, 132

Carrier, Edwin B 132

Dickey, Hon. Charles 72, 73

Dibble, Charles P 73

Du Bois, Harvey J 100

Douglass, Samuel E 110, 111

Dickey, Marsh 145

Dunakin, Daniel 140

Doolittle, Joel facing 146

French, Hon. George H facing 124

Fenn, Thomas J. ....*.. 172

Green, Elijah facing 147

Gordon, Alexander . 179

PAOX

Hyde, Augustus 75, 76

Hill, Samuel W 77

Hall, Moses 80, 81

Hall, Judge Tolman W • . 81

Hussey, Erastus 97-99

Hart, Isaac P 100

Holmes, Charles D no

Holmes, Thomas no

Hadden, Amos 115

Hicks, William 179^ 180

Hamilton, George B 198

Hutchinson, Loomis 184

Houston, John 165

Hatch, Y. M. 193

Hanchett, David ..... facing 52

Hanchett, Caleb 132

Hewitt, Isaac . . 131

Johnson, Edwin H 109

Knickerbocker, Wm. M facing 113

Knight, Thomas 185

Kelsey, Silas 171

Lane, James 155

McCamly, Judge Sands 80

Manchester, Elias C 99, 100

Mapes, Anson 103

Markham, J. P 179

Mayo, James 156

Miller, David H 74

Miner, James A. ...... 75

Mitchell, Hon. Preston 77, 78

Newbre, James 184

Newbre, William 184

Powell, Hon. William 78

Peabody, Tenney facing 112

Pattison, S. G 130

Pierce, Nathan 129

Robinson, Solon E 140, 141

Smith, Earl 76

Stewart, Joseph W 103

Soule, Theron 112

Soule, Milo 130

Shipman Family, The 144

Spaulding, Nirum L facing 182

Sprague, Rev. Thomas 171

Sackett, Morrison 130

Samson, Galen 130

Townsend, Lewis 132

Willard, Hon. Allen 81

Wattles, M.D., Jervis H 102

Wakefield, Hon. G. N 103

Wood, Barnett 104

Warner, William A Ill

Warner, Wareham Ill

Walker, Truman P 115

Warner, Asahel ........ 145

Woolsey, Daniel facing 69

Warren, Ira A 185

Wagner, Hon. John 171,172

Walkinshaw, James ....... 156

White, Henry L . 131

White, William C. 130

Roster of Soldiers in the "War of the Rebel-
lion/' from Calhoun County .... 199-212

6

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

facing

page

27

tt

"

29

tt

tt

54

ft

«

54

VIEWS.
Albion College, View of
Advent's Printing-House (Battle Creek)
Atkinson, Henry, residence of (Marshall)
Alexander, Morgan J., " ( " )
Adams, John " ( " ) . " " 66

Anderson, Jacob, farm and res. of (Albion) facing pages 108, 109
Abbott, Sylvester, residence of (Sheridan) . facing page, 147
Adventist Church (Convis) . . . . u " 155
Aldrich, George W., residence of (Clarendon) facing page 190

" " 28
" " 56
" " 62
" " 101
" " 143
tt. tt 1U

" 144
" " 159
" " 186
« " 169
. frontispiece
facing page 9
" " 22

Battle Creek College

Brackett, A. E., residence of (Marshall)
Brewer, C. M., " ( " ) .

Beach, E. Darwin, " (Battle Creek)

Billinghurst, Dan., " (Sheridan)

Burr, Rufus, present residence ( " )
Burr, Rufus, residence in 1838 ( " )
Burnett, Frank, residence of (Burlington) .
Born, George, " (Clarendon) .

Bevier, Mrs. L. H., " (Le Roy)

Calhoun County Court-House (Marshall)
Calhoun County, Map of ... .
Calhoun County Poor-House
Curtis, Benjamin F., residence of (Marshall)

Cook, Asa B.,

a

( " )

ft

Crosby, C. H.,

it

(Battle Creek)

"

Clark, Alexander H.,

"

( " " )

tt

Central School Building

( " " )

Crawford, R., residence of

( " " ) fa

ucii

Church, Mrs. Lura, "

(Albion)

"

Clute, H. A., "

(Lee) .

"

Chisholm, Thomas, "

(Marengo)

tt

Chapin, Samuel, residence of ( " )

tt

Cook, Hon. William,

tt

(Clarendon)

tt

Cox, John,

tt

(Bedford)

tt

Carrier, Edwin B.,

a

(Marengo)

tt

Crossman, L. G.,

•<

( " )

tt

Chamberlin, Benjamin,

tt

(Newton) .

tt

Convis, Samuel,

tt

(Pennfield)

tt

Dibble, C. P.,

tt

(Marshall)

tt

Du Bois, Harvey J.,

tt

(Battle Creek)

"

70

82

85

86

90

111

115

125

129

187

194

132

133

174

177

50

92

Dickey, Marsh, res. and farm (Sheridan)

double page .... facing pages 142, 143
Dean, Mrs. Nelson, residence of (Tekonsha) facing page 151

Doolittle, Isaac H.,
Eslow, Thomas E.,
Ellis, John^
French, Hon. G. H.,
Fenn, Thomas,

(Clarendon)
(Homer) .
(Tekonsha)
(Homer) .
(Le Roy) .

189
123
149
124
172
105
107
107
150
166
173
176
29
52
79

Gridley, Abram H., farm and res. of (Albion)
Gale Manufacturing Co.'s Works (Albion) .
Gardner, A. P., residence of ( " ) .
Granger, S. S., " (Tekonsha)

Gould, Fayette, " (Le Roy) .

Gould, David, farm and res. (Newton)
Gordon, Alexander, residence of (Pennfield)
Health Institute (Battle Creek) .
Hanchett, David, residence of (Marshall) .
Hart, Isaac P., " (Battle Creek)

B[ussey, Erastus, residence and homestead

(Battle Creek) . . . .
Hadden, Amos, residence of (Lee)
Hewitt, Isaac, " (Marengo)

Hanchett, Caleb, " ( " )

Houston Homestead, The (Fredonia) .
Houston, John, residence of ( " ) . .
Hicks, William, " (Pennfield)

Hutchinson, Loomis, residence of (Emmett)

double page .... facing pages 180, 181
Irwin Hall and Hygienic Institute (Battle

Creek) ....... facing page

Kerr, William H., residence of (Tekonsha) . « «
Knight, Thomas, " (Emmett) . ." "

Leonard, D. P., • " (Burlington) " "

Map of Calhoun County ....""

Mapes, Anson, residence of (Battle Creek) . " "

Miller, John,

Mayo, James,

Markham, Jos. P.,

Newbre, O. and I.,

Newbre, William,

page

(Athens) . . "
(Convis) . . "
(Pennfield) . . "
(Emmett) . . "
( " ) double

facing pages 184, 185

97
114
127
129
161
164
180

29

148

182

158

9

80
118
156
178
184

" Oak Lawn," res. of L. Silliman (Albion) . facing page 106
"Oak Hill," " C. M. Brewer (Marshall) " « 62
Poor-House, The County . . . . " " 22

Peterman, Dr. H. A., res. and office (Marshall) facing page 54
Public School Building (Marshall) . " 58

Powell, William, residence of (Marshall) . facing
Pond, J. E., " ( " ) . «

Potter House (Battle Creek) ..."

Painter, J. C, grain and stock farm of

(Athens) "

Powers, John, residence of (Homer) . . "
Pattison, S. G., " (Marengo) . "

Pritchard, James, residence and farm of

(Clarendon) "

Robinson, Solon E., residence of (Eckford) "

Reasoner, Daniel, ,f (Le Roy) . "

Stewart, Joseph W., " (Battle Creek) "

Stewart, James H., " ( " " .)..««

Silliman, L., "

Soule, Theron, "

Samson, Galen, "

Soule, Milo, "

Shipman, J. D., u

Shipman, Robert B., "

Spaulding, N. L., "

double page .
Underwood, Chester R., res. of (Newton) .
Vary, A. T., " (Marshall) .

Woolsey, Daniel, " ( " ) .

Werstein, L., " (Battle Creek)

Ward & Son, J. M., warehouses, etc. (Battle

Creek) ....
Wood, Barnet, residence of (Battle Creek)

(Albion) "

( " )
(Marengo) "

( tt ) tt

(Sheridan) "

( tt } tt

(Emmett),

facing pages 182, 183
facing page 173
60

66
70

116
122
128

188
136
167
84
85
106
112
126
130
145
146

Warner, William A.,
Warner, Wareham,
Walker, T. P.,
Ware, S. S.,
Worthington, James,
White, William C,
Warner, Asahel,
Walkinshaw, James,
Wagner, Susan,
Warren, Ira A.,

(Albion)
the late (Albion
(Lee)

(Athens) .
(Homer) .
(Marengo)
(Sheridan)
(Convis)
(Le Roy)
'(Emmett)

Warren, Ira A., old homestead, built in 1833

94
110
111
113
115
121
131
147
153
168
185
185

PORTRAITS.

Austin, Charles
Anderson, Jacob (and wife)
)

Abbott, Reuben (
Atmore, Matthew (
Brackett, Albert E. (
Burpee, Samuel J.
Beach, Asahel
Beach, Mrs. Dr. John
Beach, E. Darwin (and wife)
Billinghurst, Daniel
Burr, Rufus (and wife)
Burnett, Frank (and wife)
Bevier, Mrs. Louisa
Barnum, Thomas B.
Curtis, Benjamin F.
Crosby, C. H. (and wife)
Crawford, R. ( " )
Clark, A. L. .

Church, Chandler M. (and wife
Chisholm, Thomas ( "
Chapin, Samuel ( "

Crossman, L. G. ( "

Carrier, E. B. ( "

Convis, Samuel (and wives)
Cox, John (and wife) .
Dickey, Hon. Charles .
Du Bois, Peter
Du Bois, Harvey J.
Dunakin, Daniel (and wife)
Dickey, Marsh ( " )
Doolittle, Isaac H. ( " )
Doolittle, Joel ( " )
Dean, Nelson ( " )
Douglass, Geo. A. (and wife)
Eslow, Thomas E. ( " )
Ellis, John ( " )

Ellis, Heman J. .
Fenn, Thomas (and wife)

. facing page 98

facing pages 108, 109

. facing page 147

" 178
. facing " 56

" 76

facing "

facing "

101
101
143
144
159
169
170
68

" " 82

. ■ " " 90

" 102

. facing " 111

"• " 125

" " 129

" " 133

" " 132

" " 177

" " • 194

" 72

. facing " 92

" " 92

" 140

facing pages 142, 143

. facing page 189

" " 147

" " 151

facing pages 184, 185

. facing page 123

" " 149

. " " 149

" " 172

Francisco, Henry (and wife)
Goodrich, Mrs. L. S. .
Green, Elijah (and wife)
Granger, S. S. ( " ) .
Guyer, Andrew ( " )
Gould, Fayette ( " )
Gordon, Alex. ( " ) .
Godfrey, Oliver W. (and wife)
Hall, Tolman W.
Hyde, Augustus 0.
Hanchett, David .
Hanchett, Caleb (and wife) .
Hill, Samuel W. .
Hart, Isaac P. (and wife)
Hussey, Erastus ( " )
Hall, Moses ....

Hall, T. W

Holmes, Charles D.
Holmes, Thomas .
Hadden, Amos (and wife) .
Hobart, Hon. N. P.
Holmes, William .
Hewitt, Isaac (and wife)
Houston, Sr., John (and wife)
Houston, John (and wife) .
Hiscock, Isaac
Hicks, William (and wife) .
Hutchinson, Loomis (and wives) .
Hatch, Youn glove M. (and wife) .
Hamilton, George B. ( . " ) .
Johnson, Edwin H.
Knickerbocker, W. M. (and wife)
Kellogg, George
Kerr, William H. (and wife)
Kelsey, Silas
Knight, Thomas
Lane, James
Leonard, D. P.
Miller, David H.
Miner, James A. .
Mitchell, Preston
Mapes, Anson (and wife)
Mayo, James ( " )
Markham, J. P. ( " ■)
Manchester, E. C.
Newbre, James (and wife)
Newbre, William ( " )
Peterman, Dr. Hiram A. (and wife)
Powell, William
Peabody, Tenney (and wife)
Pattison, S. G. ( "
Pierce, Nathan ( "
Potter, John ( "

Rogers, John B. ( "
Robinson, Solon ( "
Reasoner, Daniel ( "
Root, Elijah .
Samson, Galen (and wife)
Sackett, Morrison
Shipman, J. D. (and wife)
Shipman, Robert B. ( " )
Smith, Earl

Soule, Theron (and wife)
Soule, Milo ( " )
Sprague, Rev. Thomas
Spaulding, Nirum L. (and wife
(

Stewart, Joseph W.

Underwood, C. R.

Vary, A. T.

Warren, Ira A.

Wagner, Hon. John

Warner, Asahel (and wife) .

Warner, William A. (and wife)

Warner, Wareham

Walkinshaw, James (and wife)

Wattles, J. H.

Wakefield, Geo.N.

Walker, T. P. (and wife)

Willard, George .

Willard, David N. (and wife)

Wisner, Jehiel

White, Henry L. .

White, William C. (and wife)

Woolsey, Daniel . . .

Wood, Barnett (and wife)

facing page 175
« " 112

tt tt u7

" " 150

" 160

facing " 166

« tt !7 6

facing pages 184, 185
facing page 22
" " 22
" " 52
" " 129
" " 76
tt a 79
tt tt 97

facing

110
110
114
119
119
127
161
164
170
180

facing pages 180, 181
page 193
" 198
facing " 22
tt tt 112

« « , 119

tt tt u $

tt a 170

tt tt 182 N

" " 155

" " 158

"74

" 75

facing " 76

" " 80

" " 156

a tt 178

« « 98
" " 184
facing pages 184, 185
facing page 54
" " 76
" " 112
" "■ 128
" 129
facing " 175
" " 119
" " 136

" " * 167
" " 175

" " 126

" 130

facing " 145

tt u U6

« " 76
" " 112
tt « 130
tt a 170
facing pages 182, 183
facing page 84
u. u xn

" " 60

" " 185

" " 168

■■. u . tt u7

tt tt 110

. " 111

" 153

tt u 102

■tt it 102

facing " 113

« tt 102

« u 119

a tt 119

tt tt 22

a u 131

" " 69

u tt : 94

INTRODUCTORY.

The historian, in rescuing from oblivion the life of a nation, should " exten-
uate nothing, nor aught set down in malice." Myths, however beautiful, are at
their best but fanciful ; traditions, however pleasing, are uncertain ; and legends,
though the very essence of poesy, are unauthentic. The novelist will take the
most fragile thread of a vivid imagination, and from it weave a fabric of surpass-
ing beauty. But the historian should place his feet upon the solid basis of fact,
and, turning a deaf ear to the allurements of fancy, sift, with careful and pains-
taking scrutiny, the evidence brought before him, and upon which he is to give
the record of what has been. Standing, as he does, down the stream of time, far
removed from its source, he must retrace, with patience and care, its meanderings,
guided by the relics of the past which lie upon its shores, growing fainter and
still more faint and uncertain as he nears its fountain, ofttimes concealed in the
debris of ages, and in mists and darkness impenetrable. Written records grow
less and less explicit, and finally fail altogether, as he approaches the beginning of
the community whose life he is seeking to rescue from the gloom of a fast-receding
past. Memory, wonderful as are its powers, is yet frequently at fault ; and only
by a comparison of its many aggregations can he be satisfied that he is pursuing
stable-footed truth in his researches amid the early paths of his subject.

In the republic, founded upon popular sovereignty, the people are supreme.
They are the source of power. From them springs the government of the nation
in its varied phases — National, State, and Municipal. The several States of the
American Union, conceding to the General Government its central power, retain
their individual sovereignty, within the limits prescribed by the Federal Constitu-
tion, and, in the spirit and significance of the national legend (E Pluribus Ifnurn),
are " many like the billows, and one like the sea." This principle of independent
sovereignty runs through the whole system of the government, from the election
of the federal executive to that of the most obscure constable or path-master.
And it is by reason of this sovereignty that the beginning and progress of a
county become no unimportant subjects to trace upon the permanent pages of
history.

The ties of " home" have, ere now, thrown around sterile coasts, frozen plains,
and mountain cliffs the halo of the love of a patriotic people. Is it surprising,
then, that the undulating, flowery prairies and open vistas of park-like lawns,
which, for extent and natural beauty, far excel the baronial manors of European
aristocracy, and watered with clear running streams and quiet lakes — which
beautiful landscape is embraced within the limits of Calhoun County — should
charm the eyes of the first settlers as they emerged from the dark, dense forests
of New York, Canada, and Ohio, and beget in their hearts a love for the sur-
roundings of nature that clings to them in their old age, and falls but little short
of reverence when they speak of the old county which witnessed their first strug-
gles for life and competency ? These associations have made it a sacred and almost
hallowed spot.

These old pioneers are fast sinking to rest after the toils and privations of the
border, whither they came, buoyed up with hope and nerved with vigor, to build
for themselves and their loved ones homes amid this beautiful scenery, while yet
the whoop of the Indian and the howl of the wolf resounded on every side, and
war's alarms came not infrequently, with imperious demands for blood and treasure.
Here and there a white-haired veteran, bowed with the weight of years and the
unremitting toil of pioneer life, remains an interesting relic of fast-fading times.
Before all of these old, hardy pioneers, whose impress was the germ of the present,
and whose endowment was lofty examples of courage and unabated energy, and
who have durably stamped their characteristics upon worthy successors — before
these have passed away, we seek to place upon the historic page the record of
whom they were, and what they did to make their county the just pride of the
great Peninsular State of the American Union. Records will be traced as far as
they may yield the information sought ; the memories of the pioneers will be laid
under tribute ; the manuscripts of the provident will give their contributions, and
all sources will be called into requisition to furnish material, reliable and certain,
to bring forth a truthful history of this grand county.

Individual success is a proof of triumphant energy, and pledges a like career

to corresponding enterprises ; therefore biographies of earnest, successful repre-
sentative lives, intimately connected with the development of the county, will
illustrate what energy, determination, and indomitable will have hitherto accom-
plished, and can yet accomplish.

To foster local ties, to furnish examples of heroism, to exhibit the results of
well-applied industry, and to mark the progress of the community, literature, art,
and typography (an attractive trio) are freely employed to embellish and render
invaluable a practical and interesting work.

Less than fifty years ago the first white settler built his cabin of rough, unhewn
logs west of the principal meridian of the United States surveys in the State of
Michigan. Until then the solitudes of the whole territory of southwestern Michi-
gan, acquired in 1821 by the treaty of Chicago, had been unbroken by any sound
of humanity save as that mysterious people, the Mound- Builders (whose monu-
ments alone remain to tell us they once lived), had pursued their peaceful avoca-
tions within its borders ; or their Indian successors had traversed its forests and
plains ; or in their light canoes sped over the unruffled bosoms of its lakes in pur-
suit of game, or on the more bloody trail of war. Adventurous traders, coureurs
des bois, and messengers with dispatches to beleaguered posts beyond the western
lakes, had indeed followed the wild tribes, for commercial purposes, or passed
across its boundaries, but no mark was left to show that an actual settlement had
been made, with any idea of permanency, previous to 1827, in all of its wide
extent.

A half-century has wrought a wondrous change. Despite privation, danger,
and misfortune, farms multiplied and towns grew ; highways were cut through
the forests ; streams were bridged ; morasses drained, and the stage-coach made
its weekly trip between the eastern and western lakes. Then came the railways,
connecting the populous and wealthy east with the western border, affording easy
and rapid transit, and progress sprang forward, equipped for an untiring march.
The productions of the soil were, as by magic, exchanged for the commerce of the
seas and the manufactures of the seaboard. Education and religion walked hand
in hand, and together wrought their beneficent mission, laying broad and deep
the foundations of happiness and progress, and doing much also to erect the har-
monious and symmetrical edifice thereon, which prosperous trade, busy manufacture,
and toilsome agriculture have made a demonstrable certainty.

In prosecuting our enterprise we shall essay, first, somewhat of the history of
the State in its early settlement, with a brief sketch of the title to the fee of the
millions of acres of prolific soil within its splendid domain, and which the national
government confers upon the settler who makes his home thereon. Then will
follow an account of the county, from its earliest settlement, up to and including
the just completed centennial year; showing its surprising development in agricul-
ture, trade, manufactures, political influence, population and wealth — not forgetting
to do honor to the brave men, of all political faiths, who rallied to the common de-
fense of the country when armed treason raised its bloody hand against the national
Hfe, and who bore the banner of the Peninsular State through the carnage of
many hard-fought fields, onward to ultimate triumph. Brief histories of the
several townships and villages composing the county will follow, wherein will
appear the names of the early settlers, public officials, professional men, trades-
men ; with accounts of schools, churches, and societies ; together with comparative
statements of the business of those early days and of the present, interspersed
with incidents, humorous and sad, which invariably attach to border life, but
which, however graphically they may be told, cannot give to us of the present day,
who have come into our pleasant places through the toils and privations of the
pioneers, any realizing sense of the rugged, thorny paths those heroes and heroines
patiently and hopefully trod for many long and weary years.

It cannot, then, be unimportant or uninteresting to trace the progress of Cal-
houn's gratifying development, from her crude beginnings to her present proud
position among her sister-counties ; and therefore we seek to gather the scattered
and loosening threads of the past into a compact web of the present, ere they
become hopelessly broken and lost, and with a trust that the harmony of our
work may speak with no uncertain sound to the future.

HI ST O E T

OF

CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

BY H. B. PIERCE.

CHAPTER I.

CIVILIZATION ; ITS PROGRESS — FIRST INTRODUCTION INTO MICHIGAN — FIRST
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT — ORDINANCE OF 1787 ORGANIZATION OF TER-
RITORY — COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS — ADOPTION OF CONSTITUTION— DE-

t

VELOPMENT OF STATE.

In the early ages, amid the hordes of the east, civilization was born, and began
its march of progress. Westward, over Assyria, India, Egypt, Greece, and Rome,
as those nations successively rose and fell, its waves rolled, and lapped the shores
of Spain, France, and Britain. Checked for a time at this ultima thule of the
Greek and barbarian, by the repressive spirit of the Middle Ages, at length it over-
leaped the barriers interposed to its progress, and bore upon its topmost crest, over
the Atlantic, a Columbus, a Cabot, and a Cartier as its avant couriers to the New
World, whose shores were bathed by the waters of two oceans. Rolling inland,
over mountain, lake, and river, across the ancient domain of the Mound-Builders,
then the realm of the Iroquois and Algonquin, the first ripple of the incoming
tide broke upon the shores of Michigan in the year of grace 1641, at which time*
Father Charles Raymbault and his companion, Isaac Jogues (Jesuit missionaries,
and envoys of the king of France), unfurled the Bourbon lilies at the Sault St.
Marie, and proclaimed to an assemblage of two thousand of the red men of the
northwest the news of salvation.

These missionaries were followed by Rene Mesnard in 1660, and Claude Allouez
in 1665, in the Lake Superior region ; and by Pere Marquette and Claude Dablon
in 1668, who founded the mission at Sault St. Marie, which was the first settle-
ment by Europeans in Michigan.

In 1671, Pere Marquette founded the mission of St. Ignace, on the north shore
of the straits of Mackinac; and in 1673, after his discovery of the Mississippi, —
the great event of his life, — he discovered and named the river St. Joseph, and
explored it for some distance from its mouth.

In 1679, La Salle traversed the great lakes in the " Griffin," the first vessel
ever launched thereon, and while awaiting her return, built a trading-post at the
mouth of the St. Joseph, and carefully sounded the stream and buoyed its chan-
nel ; and, finally, went to Illinois with Hennepin and Tonti, making the portage
to the Kankakee, near the present site of South Bend, Indiana. The real settle-
ment of Michigan, however, may be said to have commenced at Detroit in 1701,
when De la Motte Cadillac, with the inseparable Jesuit and one hundred French-
men, took possession of that point in the name of the king of France, and which
was the first permanent colony settled in Michigan. Thus, this Commonwealth,
which began to be colonized even before Georgia, is the oldest of all the inland
States of the Union, excepting Illinois, which had a colony at Kaskaskia previous
to 1700.

The French authority over Michigan, which lasted till 1760, and the English
domination which succeeded, and ended nominally in 1783, but really not until
1796, brought but little progress to the country. In 1787 the northwest terri-
tory was organized under the ordinance of 1787, Michigan coming under its gov-
ernment and laws at the departure of the British garrison in 1796, from Detroit.
The first American settler in Michigan located at Frenchtown, on the river Raisin,
in 1793. In January, 1798, the northwest territory assumed the second grade
of territorial government, as provided by the ordinance of 1787, and the territory

This date was five years before Elliott preached to the Indians within six miles of Boston
Harbor.

of Michigan, as afterwards established, constituted a single county — Wayne — in
that territory, and sent one representative to the General Assembly of the north-
west territory, held at Chillicothe ; and the election at which this representative
was chosen was the first election held in Michigan under the American government.

In 1802 the Lower Peninsula was annexed to Indiana Territory by the act of
Congress creating the State of Ohio. January 11, 1805, Michigan was erected
into a separate territory, and General William Hull appointed governor. From
that time to the glorious victory of Commodore Perry on Lake Erie, in 1813, the
country was subject to the terrors and atrocities of Indian warfare, the western tribes
being confederated under Tecumseh, with the British, against the United States.

After the recapture of Detroit in 1813, General Cass began a most successful
administration as governor of the territory, which lasted until 1831, during which,
as a historian of Michigan says, he did " more for the prosperity of Michigan than
any other man, living or dead."

From 1805 to 1824, the legislative powers were vested in the governor and
judges who formed the territorial government; but in the latter year Congress
provided for a legislative council, to which those powers were given. The mem-
bers were appointed by the president from eighteen nominees elected by the people,
nine of whom constituted the council for four years. The first legislative council
was held in Detroit on June 7, 1824. Immigration now began to flow into the
country, and population being scattered, Congress authorized the governor, in
1825, to divide the territory into counties and townships, and to provide for the
election of township officers. In 1826, the counties of Mackinaw, Saginaw, La-
peer, Shiawassee, St. Clair, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, Wayne, Lenawee, and
Monroe were organized, and the territory west of the principal meridian to Lake
Michigan — which had not been surveyed — was attached to Monroe and Oakland
counties for judicial purposes. On April 23, 1827, the lands ceded by the treaty
of Chicago in 1821 were formed into a township, and named St. Joseph, and
attached to Lenawee county for similar purposes. The same year, Congress gave
the people the right to elect the representatives to the legislative council, and the
representation was apportioned among the districts and counties according to popu-
lation.

In 1833, the people of Michigan memorialized Congress for an enabling act to
form a State constitution, preparatory to the admission of the State into the Union ;
but that body refused their prayer. Thereupon Governor Stevens convened the
legislative council, which ordered a census of the territory to be taken, and called
a convention to frame a constitution, that " the State might demand as a right
what had previously been asked as a favor." In 1834 the census was taken,
showing a population of 87,273 ; an excess of 27,273 over the requisite number
provided for in the organic law of the northwest territory. In May, 1835, the
convention framed a constitution and sent it to Congress for acceptance ; but owing
to the southern boundary trouble, which had been vexing the people of Ohio
and Michigan for thirty years, and the political agitation of the times, the State
was not finally admitted until January, 1837 ; the boundaries being adjusted as
at present, and so accepted by the people finally. From this time Michigan dates
her marvelous progress in manufactures, agriculture, commerce, and education,
which has placed her in the very fore front of the grand galaxy of American com-
monwealths. Amid her unrivaled natural beauties and inexhaustible resources,
her commercial and educational development, this proud State may well and justly
say to all comers within her borders, in the language of her appropriate motto,
Si quseris peninsulam amoenam, circumspice, li If you seek a beautiful peninsula,
look around you."

9

10

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

CHAPTER II.

ABSTRACT OF TITLE — FRENCH, ENGLISH, COLONIAL, AND INDIAN TITLES TO

LANDS IN THE NORTHWEST FIRST LEGAL CONVEYANCE IN MICHIGAN —

LAND SURVEYS AND SALES — MILITARY REPORT ON AMOUNT OF GOOD LAND.

Notwithstanding the claims made by England and France to American soil,
based upon the right of discovery under the law of nations, and which claims were
maintained for two hundred years at a most frightful expenditure of blood and
treasure, and although the thirteen colonies, after a bloody and expensive war of
seven years, succeeded to the rights of those nations in the soil of the northwest,
yet there was an adverse and prior claim to be extinguished before a free and unin-
cumbered title in fee simple could be given to lands northwest of the Ohio river.
The aboriginal inhabitants — the Indians — were the real lords proprietary of the
soil of North America, and most energetic and tenacious were they in defending
their title thereto ; and so successful were they in that defense, that the American
people, notwithstanding their rights acquired so bloodily and expensively, were
under the imperative necessity of perfecting their fee in their conquests by purchase
from these same proprietors, from first to last. All of the terrible Indian wars
which have deluged the territory of the United States with the blood of white
men, to say nothing of the extermination of whole nations of the red race, which
these same wars have occasioned, have been caused and waged on account of the
trespass of the pale-faces upon the Indians' land, as alleged by the latter.

In 1753 the French, by the treaty of peace following the fall of Quebec, ceded
their rights in Canada and the northwest to the English crown, and it in turn, by
the treaty of peace at Versailles, after the Eevolution in 1783, ceded its rights in
the northwest to the United States. Several of the colonies had obtained, previous
to the Eevolution, certain vested rights in the territory northwest of the Ohio by
charters from the British crown, and hence these lands were known by the name
of " Crown Lands." These vested rights were ceded by the several States of New
York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and South Carolina, to whom they
belonged, to the general government of the Union, from the year 1781 to 1787,
and yet it was claimed by the Indians — and the claim made valid — that the United
States had acquired by these several cessions the right of pre-emption only to the
soil whenever the Indians chose to alienate their title thereto.

After the great confederate council of the eastern and western Indians, at the
Huron village, on the Detroit river, in December, 1786, the Congress of the
United States accepted the construction placed by them upon the treaty with
England in 1783— that they (the Indians) were no party thereto, nor included in
the provisions thereof — and the government at once began measures looking to
the quieting and extinguishment of the Indian title to the lands in the north-
west. A treaty was made with the Wyandot, Ottawa, Delaware, and Chippewa
tribes, at Fort Mcintosh, in 1785, by which lands at Detroit and Mackinaw were
ceded to the United States. This treaty was subsequently confirmed in 1787 by
another one at Fort Harmer, and in 1795 by Wayne's treaty at Greenville. This
last treaty also ceded other tracts of land at Miami Rapids, and the islands of
Mackinaw and Bois Blanc.

In 1807 Governor Hull, of Michigan, made a very important treaty with the Ot-
tawa, Chippewa, Pottawatomie, and Wyandot tribes, whereby the Indians ceded
to the United States all the lands lying east of the present west lines of the coun-
ties of Saginaw, Shiawasse, Washtenaw, and Lenawee. In 1817 Governor Cass
made a treaty with certain of the tribes, whereby the greater part of Ohio and a
portion of Indiana and Michigan were ceded; and in 1819 the governor effected
another treaty at Saginaw with the Chippewas, by which the United States quieted
the Indian title to six millions of acres in Michigan. In 1821, by the treaty of
Chicago with the Ottawas, Chippewas, and Pottawatomies, all of the country
west of the principal meridian, south of the Grand river to the Indiana State line,
and west to Lake Michigan, with the exception of a few reservations, was ceded
and confirmed to the general government. Subsequent treaties in 1823, 1825,
1826, and 1827, at Niles, Prairie du Chien, Green Bay, and St. Joseph, extin-
guished the Indian title throughout the then territory of Michigan, with the
exception of such reservations as were made for special bands or tribes — most of
the Indians in the southern portion of the territory removing west of the Missis-
sippi.

Under the French domination in Michigan, grants of land could be made by
the French governors of Canada and Louisiana, which were to be confirmed by
the king of France to make them legally pass the title. The French commandants
of the post were also allowed to grant permissions of occupancy to settlers, and
these latter sometimes occupied lands without permission from any one, thus
gaining a color of possessory title, under which they subsequently claimed the
full right of ownership.

On the accession of the English power, the British king restricted the extin-

guishment of the Indian title, prohibiting the English governors from issuing
grants of lands, except within certain prescribed limits, and the English subjects
from making purchases of the Indians or settlements without those prescribed
bounds. Grants, purchases, and settlements, however, were made, the king's
proclamation to the contrary notwithstanding ; and these prohibited possessions
formed an important part of the ancient land claims afterwards adjudicated by the
land board of Michigan.

In the "American State Papers," vol. i., " Public Lands," it is stated by the
report of a commission on land claims in Michigan, that there were but eight
legal titles passed to lands during the French and English occupancy of the
country. However, there was a land-office established at Detroit in 1804, and
the evidence in support of the various land claims arising in Michigan' was
gathered and submitted to Congress, which body, by subsequent acts of relief,
vested the right to their lands in all actual settlers who could show a reasonable
color of title thereto.

The first legal grant of land in Michigan was made in 1707, by " Antoine de
la Motte Cadillac, Esq., Lord of Bouaquet Mont Desert, and Commandant for
the King, at Detroit, Pont Chartrain," to " Frangois Fafard Delorme;" and it
was charged with a great many conditions of the old feudal tenure of Europe.
The rents and quit-rents were to be paid in peltries until a currency should be
established, when the peltries were to be exchanged for and succeeded by the
cash of the country.

The system now in vogue in conducting the surveys of the public lands, by
which the territory is surveyed into townships of six miles square, and the town-
ships subdivided into thirty-six sections, one mile square each, is the suggestion
and plan of General Harrison, which was adopted by the general government.

In Michigan, the principal meridian of the surveys was located on the west line
of Lenawee county, where the same intersects the Ohio State line ; and was run
due north through the State to the Sault St. Marie. A base line was established,
commencing on Lake St. Clair, on the line between Macomb and Wayne counties'
and running due west to Lake Michigan, on the division lines of the counties in-
tervening. Three auxiliary lines for the correction of the surveys were run : the
first, beginning at the meridian, on the centre line of Gratiot county, and running
due west to Lake Michigan ; the second, beginning at Lake Huron, on the line
between Iosco and Bay counties, and running due west to the lake ; and the third
beginning at Thunder bay, just south of the centre line of Alpena county, and
running due west to the same general termination. There are in the survey
eighteen ranges of townships west, and sixteen east of the principal meridian, in
the widest part of the State. The townships number eight south, and thirty-seven
north of the base line on the meridian in the lower peninsula, and run as high as
fifty-eight in the upper peninsula, on Keweenaw point.

The first survey of public lands in the State was made in 1816, in the eastern
part thereof, on Detroit river and vicinity, and a portion only of that surveyed
brought into market in 1818, all within the Detroit land district.

In 1823, the Detroit land district was divided, and a land-office established at
Monroe, at which all entries west of the principal meridian, up to 1831, had to
be made. The lands were first offered at public sale, and after all competition
seemed to be over the applications and bids would be opened and examined,
pending which action the office was closed, thereby causing much delay and
expense to bona-fide settlers, and also affording a fine opportunity for the " land
sharks"— speculators— to reap a rich harvest from the real settlers who came to
buy their own locations.

The public sales were finally abolished, which act, together with the adoption
of the cash system, rendered the swindling tricks of the speculators less easy of
performance, and as a consequence, their occupation was soon gone.

After the applications and bids at the public sales were disposed of, the land
was subject to private entry at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, cash in
hand. Previous to 1820 the price of the public lands was fixed at two dollars
per acre, and the terms at one-quarter down, the balance in three equal annual
payments. This system proved a delusion and a snare to the people as well as the
government, for many would buy larger tracts than they could pay for, not con-
sidering sufficiently the drawbacks they were liable to, and did experience, in the
settlement of a new country. The result was that the government could not, and
would not, take the improvements of the settlers, but extended their time of pay-
ment and gave them liberal discounts and concessions ; and finally abolished the
credit system altogether, and, at the same time, reduced the price of the public
lands to one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and made it subject to private
entry at that price.

In 1831 a land-office was established at White Pigeon, for lands subject to
entry west of the principal meridian, but in 1834 it was removed to Bronson,
now Kalamazoo.

A military board of survey, or commission, was sent out by Congress to report

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

11

the quality and quantity of lands in Michigan, for the purpose of locating on
U " h lands the bounty land- warrants of the Revolutionary soldiers and officers,
• Q(y m Michigan, two millions of acres. General Brown stated in the report
of thls^commission, that there were not enough of good lands in the State to
locate that amount of warrants, and therefore the Act of Congress, passed May
6 1812 ordering the survey to be made, was repealed, and a survey of a similar
quantity of lands directed to be made, in lieu thereof, in Arkansas and Illinois.
This report gave a bad reputation to Michigan lands, and it was not until after 1830
that the effect was removed by the representations of actual settlers, when immi-
oration which had mostly " passed by on the other side" to Illinois and Iowa,
received a remarkable impetus, literally surging by waves into the territory. But
the cloud had its " silver lining," nevertheless, for though the inaccurate and
unjust report of the military board kept away the immigrants for a time, it also
left them free of the bane of new countries — the land speculator, whose " tricks
of trade" were so happily suppressed by the government in after-years.

CHAPTER III.

ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS — MYSTERIOUS PEOPLE— THE INDIANS OF CALHOUN ;
THEIR POSITION IN THE BLACK HAWK WAR A BIG INJUN — TRAILS.

Along the valleys of the Kalamazoo and St. Joseph rivers are found the remains
of an ancient and long since departed people, whom modern science, for want of
a better name, has yclept the Mound -Builders. The works of these unknown peo-
ple are found throughout the entire United States, from the great copper regions
of Lake Superior, where they once wrought and mined the mass copper, to the
Everglades of Florida, where their shell-mounds attest their presence ; and from
Maine southwesterly to the plains of Mexico, their fortifications erected with
mathematical skill, and an apparent knowledge of engineering, are wonders yet
unexplained by modern research and investigation. The works of the Ohio and
Mississippi valleys appear to be the earlier stages of the mechanical skill of a
people who, emigrating voluntarily or involuntarily to the plains of Mexico and
Yucatan and the highlands of Peru, carried on their arts to grand achievements,
as the magnificent cities and temples of the former places and the architectural
wonders of the latter country fully and grandly attest. The question of who they
were, whence they came, and whither and how they went, is still as mysterious as
when the Europeans first gazed upon their mounds, and persistent questioning
of the Indians, who had been lords of the country for hundreds of years, could
gain no answering tradition of the builders thereof. But, undaunted and undis-
mayed, the research goes on, and here and there evidence slowly accumulates that
will in' the future give the dead back again to the living, and the now undeciphered
riddle will be read by the works this same race has left behind. We have full
faith that the Rosetta Stone will yet be found by some Champollion, who shall be
able to open the seals and read the hitherto closed book. Calhoun County is not
uninterested in this research, for she has within her borders the monuments of
this race, that give her a history reaching back before the first crusade. When
Richard Coeur de Lion and Saladin were fighting for the possession of Jerusalem,
Calhoun was an old country, from whose borders a people, numerous and peaceful,
had passed away, leaving their memorials, indeed, for the pioneer of 1830 to
wonder over ; but nothing else to tell of their history, now buried beneath the
debris of ages. Along the Kalamazoo, in Bedford township, there are two or
more fortifications ancient, but still visible, showing the peculiar circumvallation
of triple breastworks, either circular or rectangular, with sally-ports, and roads and
garden-plats, and access to the rear to the water-supply. Into Goguac lake an
ancient mound, or tumulus, projects, bearing the characteristics of the tumuli of
the Ohio and Mississippi. Along the St. Joseph, in the southern part of the
county, these remains are also found, some of which have beln excavated, and
relics of the builders found ; but no bones of the men who raised the works, the
soil being so porous that the material composing the human frame-work perished
quickly and completely. Flints, celts, copper utensils and implements are found
scattered about the fortifications and mounds and buried therein, on which trees,
similar in variety and size to those of the surrounding forest, were growing when
the first settlers came to the country, which fully attest the age of the works to
be all that is claimed for it.

THE INDIANS

of the present day were the successors of the Mound-Builders, but yet they pos-
sessed no tradition of them, and roamed through the country and gazed upon the
remains as they were from time to time excavated, or turned out by the plow-share

of the pioneer, with as much curiosity as did the white man, though probably
with less speculation. The Indian successors of the Mound-Builders left no per-
manent remains to tell of their occupancy of the soil except their garden-beds,
where the squaws cultivated corn while their lazy lords lolled in their tepees or
chased the fleet deer as they sped through the oak openings and over the billowy
prairie. The Indians who roamed over Calhoun when the first pioneers came were
the Pottawatomies principally, though a few Ottawas, commonly called Towns,
and Chippewas were incorporated in the nation. They never had any permanent
villages in the territory now included in the limits of the county, and remained in
it only during the summer months, going to the heavily-timbered regions for pro-
tection during the winter season, and consequently their history is not especially
striking or interesting. The only thing really worth recording in their occupancy
of the county is the settlement of the Maguago family in Athens, which is fully
set forth in the history of that township. This was a commendable attempt to
improve upon their condition, and as such is worthy of preservation, as it is in
marked contrast with the general history of their race. What our ancestors found
the Algonquin and Iroquois in their first contact with them on the Atlantic sea-
board, nearly three hundred years ago, we find the Sioux warrior, the only fit
representative of the Atlantic stock of braves of to-day, the same implacable, un-
tamed, bloodthirsty savage, ready to cut the throat and take the scalp of helpless
women and innocent babes, with no idea or ambition for useful labor or mental
improvement.

The Indians of Calhoun were peaceable and quiet when the white man's fire-
water— squiby, as they called it — was out of their reach ; but once in their posses-
sion and they were noisy, tyrannical, unpleasant nuisances, frightening the women
and children, and offensive in their demands for refreshment. Many incidents
are given of their manners and customs in the several township histories, and we
shall give but an outline of them here, as they are hardly worth repeating, except
to show the worst side of their conduct.

At and before the time of the Black Hawk war, in May, 1832, there were no
Indians to be met with about the settlements for weeks, whereas before that time
they were always to be seen at that time of the year. They said, after Black
Hawk was captured, that they had known of his intended raid for a long time
before the whites had any intimation of it, and that runners had been sent among
them from the Sacs to enlist their co-operation, but they would not join them by
reason of their friendship for the whites. The settlers put their words and
actions together, and came to the conclusion that their neutrality arose more from ^
their fear of the government than their love for them, feeling quite sure the war
would end in the ultimate defeat of the Indians, and that the Indians were doubt-
less willing the Sacs should massacre the whites, but were too cowardly to fight,
and so kept out of the way. But the Sacs were the natural and deadly enemies
of the Pottawatomies, and it may have been the fear of the Sacs, as well as of
the government, that kept them away. The Nottawa-seepe band of the Potta-
watomies actually sent warriors to Chicago as scouts for General Atkinson against
the Sacs, and expressed themselves as desirous of a coalition with their white
neighbors for offensive as well as defensive operations against Black Hawk, if he
should come into Michigan. In 1821 the Indians ceded their lands lying south
of Grand river and west of Lenawee county, south to the Indiana line and west to
the lake, to the general government, except a few reservations, which were sub-
sequently purchased by the government ; and in 1840, after several futile attempts,
the remnant of the nation was removed to Kansas, from whence they subsequently
removed to the Indian Territory, where the few that are left still reside on their
own reservation.

Mrs. Dr. A. L. Hays tells of a scare that a great " hulk" of an Indian gave
her, while her husband and some of the settlers were gone to Schoolcraft in their
quest for Black Hawk. She was alone with her babe, when the door of the cabin
opened and in stalked an Indian, one whom she had not seen before, and the first
one which had been seen for several days. She could converse in the Pottawat-
omie language, and so asked him if he was of that tribe. He said, " No." She
then said, "Are you a Chippewa?" "No," grinned the rascal. "Are you an
Ottawa?" asked the now frightened woman. " No, I am a Sac" said the fellow,
and the mother caught her babe from the cradle and started for the front door,
the Indian standing by the rear one. At that the brave warrior gave a loud
laugh, and told the trembling and almost fainting woman he was only trying to
frighten her, and that he was a friendly Indian. He succeeded admirably in his
cowardly design, for she thought surely the Sacs were upon the settlement, and
all the horrors of an Indian massacre rose before her vision.

The trails of the Indians were frequently utilized by the settlers for the lines
of their roads ; and on the original field notes of the public surveys they are fre-
quently noted by the surveyor, and invariably are found to follow the highest
and hardest ground, between the fords of the rivers. A short distance from Mar-
shall there used to be a summer village of the Indians, where their gardens were

12

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

cultivated ; and they were frequent and inquisitive visitors at the settlers' cabins,
but usually brought berries or game of some sort to exchange for bread (quiskin)
or flour (nanponee). There was a reservation at Coldwater, and another on the
Nottawa prairie, where there were permanent villages and trading-posts, and
around which large numbers of Indians assembled at different times. As early
as 1820 there was a trading-post built at Kalamazoo by a Frenchman named
Lafrombois. Gordon S. Hubbard, now a heavy wholesale dealer in Chicago, was
the trader at that post in the winter of 1820-21, when but nineteen years old.
He was a trader among the different tribes of the northwest for twelve years, and
his estimate of their capacity for improvement is not an exalted one, and of their
willingness to make an attempt in that direction it is much less exalted.

CHAPTER IV.

PIONEER SETTLEMENTS IMPROVISED SHELTER FOR COOKING EARLY JOUR-

NEYINGS — A BALKY PONY — FIRST HOUSES — FIRST MARRIAGE — AGUE VS.

MATRIMONY A JUSTICE BEYOND HIS BAILIWICK FIRST WHITE BIRTHS

WOMAN LEADS THE COLUMN FIRST DEATHS A MIDNIGHT BURIAL THE

FIRST CEMETERY.

The first ripple of the incoming tide of civilization that played among the oak
openings of Calhoun County broke therein in the summer of 1830, a Mr. Blash-
field being the waif thrown up thereby, who was stranded at the present site of
the city of Marshall. He drew a wagon-load of lumber from Beadle's Mill at
Flowerfield, in St. Joseph county, in June of that year, secured a pre-emption of
the water-power and adjoining lands, and blazed the trees to indicate his boundaries.
In August of that year Sidney Ketchum, from Clinton county, New York, came
into the county in search of a location. He met, at Ann Arbor, Samuel Camp,
who accompanied him on a prospecting tour through the counties of Jackson,
Calhoun, and Kalamazoo. The season was delightful, and the prospect at Marshall
so pleased Mr. Ketchum that he took minutes of the lands covering the water-
power on Bice creek, at its junction with the Kalamazoo, and also at the forks of
the latter, where Albion is now situated, the lands not being subject to entry until
October following. On their way to Kalamazoo in search of " floats" (surplus
certificates of lands squatters or settlers failed to get of their original locations,
and with which they were entitled to locate any lands elsewhere found vacant)
they overtook Judge Eldred and Buel Starr, of Kalamazoo, on Bear Plains, three
miles west of Marshall, with whom they prospected the valley to Comstock creek.
Here Eldred and Starr remained, while Ketchum and Camp went on to Kalamazoo,
to Titus Bronson's, familiarly known in pioneer days as " Potato" Bronson, by
reason of his introduction of the Neshannock potato into Michigan, of which
esculent he raised seven hundred bushels that year on one acre, the avails of
which paid for the claim the producer thereof had then made, and on which
Kalamazoo was afterwards located, but named Bronson at first. Ketchum
bargained with Bronson for his claim, but the " better half" objecting, after one
night's consideration the trade was abandoned. At Schoolcraft, Noble McKinstry
was found, who arranged with Ketchum to procure floats and locate two parcels of
land in Calhoun County, when the land office opened at Monroe, in October, for
a commission of seventy-five dollars. Ketchum and Camp immediately returned
to the site of Marshall, calling upon Judge Eldred at Comstock creek, where they
learned that Starr had preceded them to Marshall, with eight days' rations, to
establish a claim. This news excited Ketchum, who hastened on and found Starr
slashing brush and marking trees to secure his claim. Ketchum at once negotiated
with the new squatter for his claim, agreeing to give him one hundred dollars and
his gun therefor. Camp, in the mean time, had been prospecting about the bush
and discovered Blashfield's marks and lumber, and soon after the man himself was
found building a log tavern at Slab City, in Jackson county, and a new arrange-
ment was effected, whereby Starr received seventy-five dollars, and Blashfield the
same amount and the gun. Ketchum, Camp, and Starr soon after returned to
Ann Arbor, and later, the first and last named to New York. Starr subsequently
located in Porter county, Indiana, where he amassed a fortune, and died at
Valparaiso, in the summer of 1875. McKinstry procured the floats and located
the north half of the southeast quarter of section 25, township 2 south, range 6
west, sixty-seven acres, covering the water-power at Marshall, in his own name,
October 15, 1830, and on the sixteenth Ephraim Harrison located the south half
of the northeast quarter of section 2, township 3 south, range 4 west, covering
the water-power at Albion. These tracts were expected, by Ketchum, to have
been located in his name, but he subsequently bought them. These were the

only lands entered in Calhoun County in 1830. In February, 1831, Abram
Davidson and Jonathan Wood located one hundred and sixty acres on sections 25
and 26, the original plat of Marshall, on which the county-seat was located the
following fall.

A Mr. Fuller, in the fall of 1830, built a log house three miles west of Mar-
shall, on what afterwards proved to be University lands, and used the lumber
Blashfield brought from Flowerfield. It is said that when Mullett and others
located the University lands — six sections — he was entertained by Fuller, and
when the party had drank up all of his whisky and eaten the principal part of his
solid rations, Mullett rewarded his host's hospitality by informing him that his
house stood about ten rods inside the line of the University lands. . Fuller was so
disgusted with his shabby treatment, he abandoned his claim, and gave his house
to Mr. Samuel Camp, who moved it off a few rods to a claim he had entered
adjoining the State lands.

In April, 1831, the first actual and permanent settlement was made in the county
by George Ketchum, of Rochester, New York, who was accompanied by Mr. Lar-
cam Ball and wife, H. P. Wisner, Solomon M. Allen, White Ketchum, and John
Kennedy. Mrs. Ball slept in the wagon until a log house was rolled up, and cooked
on the ground. One night Ketchum held an umbrella over her head while she
baked the pancakes for supper. Mr. Ketchum built the first saw-mill on Rice creek,
that summer, completing it September 1, which was the first improvement began
in the county, aside from Fuller's cabin. In May, Dr. Andrew L. Hays arrived
at Ketchum's, and selected three lots on the south side of the river, put up a
shanty, and, with the help of a hired man, put in a few acres of corn and potatoes,
and raised a fine crop of both, which was probably the first crop of domestic pro-
duce raised in the county. After getting his planting done he built a log house,
and brought his family on from New Hampshire in September of the same year,
where they lived during the winter, being the only family between the Kalamazoo
and St. Joseph rivers. During 1831, Peter Chisholm, of eastern New York,
Rev. John D. Pierce, Randall Hobart and their families came in, all from New
York, and mostly from Clinton county, and located at Marshall. In July, Sidney
Ketchum returned with his family, Chisholm and Hobart coming with him ; and
Mr. Pierce, Samuel Camp, and S. S. Alcott came in the fall. Mr. George Ketchum
brought his family on in November, at which time Thomas Chisholm and his
wife and brother, George, came, — Thomas Chisholm purchasing the location in
Marengo, on which he resided for over forty years previous to his death, which
occurred January 1, 1876. John Bertram, Dr. Foster, Isaac Tolland, Stephen
Kimball, Henry Failing (1832), Asahel Warner, Tenney Peabody, Wareham
Warner, Thomas Burland, Thomas Knight, Thomas J. Hurlbut, Dorrance Wil-
liams, Josiah Goddard, Henry Cook, Oshea Wilder, and Isaac N. Hurd came during
the year 1831, besides others. Sands McCamley came in March, 1832; L. G.
Crossman in February preceding ; Moses Hall, Samuel Convis, Daniel G. Guern-
sey, and Pollidore Hudson in June, or thereabouts, and Powel Grover the same
year, as also did General Isaac E. Crary and many others. In 1833 and 1834,
there was a large immigration into the county, among them Nathaniel Barney
and Nebediah Angell, in 1833, and Judge Tolman W. Hall and General Ezra
Convis, in 1834.

Bertram bought Camp's location, and the house Fuller built in the fall of
1831, and dwelt therein with Thomas Burland and his family, until the summer
of 1832, when he built the first frame house and also the first barn erected in
the county. Dr. Foster and Isaac Tolland were the first settlers on the site of
the present city of Battle Creek, Tolland preceding the doctor by a month or
two. Stephen Kimball located in Marshall, and is now deceased. Henry Failing
first located in Marshall township, but subsequently removed to Homer, where he
at present resides. Asahel Warner and his father, Wareham Warner, came first
to Marshall, where the former at once located, but the latter returned east for a
time, and on his return to the county in 1834, located at Albion, where he died.
Asahel Warner is now a resident of Sheridan township. Tenney Peabody located
at Albion, with the growth and progress of which he was, during his residence
there, which continued until his death, closely identified, as also was Mr. Ware-
ham Warner. Dorrance Williams and Josiah Goddard located on Goguac prairie ;
Henry Cook on what is now known as Cook's plains, so named after him, its first
settler. Oshea Wilder and Isaac N. Hurd both located at Marshall at first, and
where the latter fell the first victim to the cholera, which decimated the settlement
in 1832. Mr. Wilder finally located in Lower Eckford. He was from Rochester,
New York, but a native of Massachusetts, and a man of culture and ability. He
surveyed and platted many of the early village plats in the county and elsewhere,
and it is claimed for him that he originated the idea of canal connection between
Lakes Erie and Michigan. His family were intelligent and cultured, his wife
being a daughter of a distinguished citizen of New York city, where she was
educated. Mr. Wilder died several years ago. Sands McCamley located first at
Marshall, but subsequently purchased a half-interest in the site of Battle Creek,

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

13

of John J. Guernsey, who entered the lands, but who was never an actual resident
thereon, and laid out the village in 1836. He died in 1864. Luther G. Cross-
man settled in Marengo, after he brought a wife in 1837 to the county. Follow-
ing his trade of a carpenter previously, and assisting in the erection of many of
the earlier framed buildings of the county, among them the first one, he still resides
on his original location. Moses Hall came from Vermont, as did also his brother,
Judge T. W. Hall, both of whom settled in Battle Creek, of which city Judge
Hall is still a resident. He has been for many years one of the county superin-
tendents of the poor, in connection with which charity his portrait and biography
appear. Moses Hall was one of the early supervisors of Milton, as the township
of Battle Creek was at first named. He was also an early legislator for the
county in the State councils, and a man of ability and influence. He is now de-
ceased. Samuel Convis, Daniel G. Guernsey, and Pollidore Hudson all located
at Battle Creek, and Mr. Convis is still a resident of the county. Guernsey was
the first tavern-keeper in that village, and Hudson the first postmaster. Powel
Grover came from Pennsylvania and settled near Homer, in the settlement of
citizens of that State. Ezra Convis located near the Battle Creek village site.
He was the first representative of the county in the State legislature, 1836-37,
and died in Detroit in February of the latter year, while occupying the position
of Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was an influential and worthy
citizen. Nathaniel Barney and Nebediah Angell located also at Battle Creek, the
former opening the second tavern in that place. Randall Hobart was a local
Methodist preacher, a very worthy man, and was the register of deeds for the
county from 1833 to 1838, receiving the appointment from Governor Porter, in
the former year, and being elected the two succeeding terms of 1835 and 1836.
Peter Chisholm located at Marshall, was a Scotchman by birth, and the first
blacksmith in the county, and more, the father of the first white child born in the
county. Dr. Hays was the first physician to locate in the county, though Dr.
Foster, at Battle Creek, could not have been far behind him. The Nichols family
came to Dry prairie in 1831, and five of them were swept off by the cholera in
1832. Isaac Thomas, of Tioga county, New York, came to Goguac prairie with
a family of four or five sons, in 1831, from whence he removed to Illinois, in 1839-
40, for more room to expand with his growing family. John Stewart, Sr., came
from New York to Ypsilanti, in 1824, and to Goguac, with several of his sons
and their families, in 1831 or 1832. He died in Battle Creek in 1843. Josiah
Goddard first saw his location on Goguac, in 1829, on his return from transport-
ing Sherman Comings and family to Toland's prairie. Samuel Camp opened in
Marshall the first hotel in the county. S. S. Alcott opened a farm on the south
side of the river, at the same place on which the first crops were raised in the
county. He was afterwards prominently connected with the history of Marshall,
where his works are more fully detailed. Bertram, Knight, and Burland were
Englishmen. Knight is still a resident of Marshall township. In 1831, R. B.
White came in from New York, and John Ansley from Pennsylvania, the latter
locating in Marengo. In 1832, Asa B. Cook and Horace J. Phelps came to
Marshall from New York. The former put up the first turning lathe, made the
first table, bedstead, and wagon manufactured in the county, and the latter was
the first probate judge elected in the county, which position he held for eight
years. With the Nichols family (Warren Nichols and family, and his brothers,
Ambrose and Othorial) came also, in 1831, Benjamin F. Ferris, Alfred Holcomb,
Isaac Crossett, Asahel Stone, and a Mr. Brown, who divided Dry prairie, in
Athens township, between them. Holcomb alone resides in the county, of all
the company, save a daughter of his, the widow of Mr. Ferris. The Nichols's,
Ferris, Crossett, Stone, and Brown are dead. In 1832, Mr. Eleazer McCamly
located in Burlington township. He was afterwards elected associate judge of
the circuit court, and sat on the bench with Judge Fletcher at the first, second,
and fourth terms of the circuit court held in the county. He was a very worthy
citizen. Rev. J. D. Pierce, the first minister of the gospel, and General Crary,
the first justice of the peace and lawyer, are given their honors in another place,
in the history of the church, the school, and the bar.

SIDNEY KETCHUM

is the recognized pioneer of Calhoun County, he having secured the claims of
Blashfield, who preceded him, and of Starr, who took advantage of his trip to
Kalamazoo, and "jumped" the claim at Marshall. He was a man of great energy
and determination. His history appears more at length in connection with that
of the city of Marshall.

The manner of transit of the early pioneers to their homes in Calhoun were
various and full of incident, and to describe the journeys of all would occupy more
space than we can spare for the interesting story, and a few of the more striking
ones only we introduce. The principal mode of conveyance was by team from
the eastern home, either of horses or oxen, and a slow and tedious journey was
the result. The most of the early pioneers came from New England and New

York, and such of them as did not come by the Erie canal and the lakes to
Detroit came through Canada as a general thing. The trip usually occupied six
weeks to two months ; sometimes a remarkably quick trip would be made in a
month. # The trip from Detroit occupied ten to twelve days. There were neither
roads nor bridges, and marshes were bottomless in effect. Samuel E. Douglass
and family came into the county in 1832, traveling with oxen from Detroit. The
roads were so bad Mrs. Douglass was compelled to walk the last 'thirty miles of
the journey. George Katchum brought his family in November, 1831, and was
ten days from Detroit. He traveled by the blazed trees, waded the marshes, and
forded the streams. At Sandstone his wagons mired, and he took his family on
his back, and carried them out to solid land.

0. C. Thompson relates his experiences in getting from Jackson to Marshall in
1831. He attempted the trip on horseback, but, on reaching the Sandstone, his
beast, utterly discouraged and exhausted by floundering through the marshes, re-
fused to enter the stream down its precipitous banks, and no amount of ingenuity
or strategy of the rider could affect his resolution or get him into the water, and
he was, per consequence, obliged to return to Jackson and leave his horse, to make
the journey on foot, which he did, falling in, on his way, with John D. Pierce,
who, with his wife, accompanied by several families, were just moving into Cal-
houn. He graphically describes Mrs. Pierce's forlorn appearance, as she sat in
the wagon, without covering, drenched through her clothing with the falling rain.
That night they found a shanty, without doors, windows, or floors, and but half a
roof on, where they all stopped, and cooked a coarse repast on the stove under the
roof. The party stowed themselves away on the bedstead and under it, and the
men occupied a little more than all of the dry ground in the house. The morn-
ing brought no relief; the rain was still falling, but another requisition was made
on the potato pile and pork barrel, and breakfast was despatched. During the
forenoon the rain ceased, and the party moved on to Marshall, six miles distant,
which consisted then of one log house and another in process of erection. These
are fair samples of the trials and hardships of a pioneer journey from Detroit to
Marshall in the settlement of Calhoun County.

THE FIRST HOUSE

built in the county, as has been before stated, was one built by Mr. Fuller on the
Seminary lands, and which afterwards passed into John Bertram's hands through
Camp ; it furnished Bertram and Burland's family a shelter during the winter
of 1831-32, and in it Burland boarded Bertram's mechanics while, during the
summer of 1832, they were building for him.

THE FIRST FRAME HOUSE ERECTED IN THE COUNTY.

Mr. Luther G. Crossman was the master mechanic of the house, and also of the
first barn erected in the county, which he built also for Mr. Bertram, which was
a frame, thirty by forty feet. A grand gathering of all the people for ten miles
around was had to raise the barn, and Sidney Ketchum held the foot of one post,
General Crary another, John D. Pierce another, while old Michael Spencer took
the role of general utility man. This barn was built immediately after the house
was covered.

THE FIRST BRICK BUILDING

erected in the county was the National House in Marshall, which was opened
with a grand ball on January 1, 1836. It was built by Andrew Mann, who
kept the house.

THE FIRST MARRIAGE

solemnized in the county, according to the rites of civilization, between white
persons, was that one celebrated, in the year 1832, by Rev. John D. Pierce, be-
tween John Kennedy, one of the first party of settlers of Calhoun, and a lady
whose name we have not been able to ascertain.

The matrimonial knot was not in those days always easy to tie, as certain in-
stances in Battle Creek and Athens strongly testify. When Frank Thomas and
Amanda Goddard, of the former place, had agreed to take each other for better
or for worse, and the day was fixed for the wedding past recall, the justice of the
peace, Moses Hall, was notified to be ready. But, as it hath ever been from the
beginning of time, that

" The best laid plans o' mice and men,
Gang aft aglee/'

so it proved in this instance, the day named being his honor's " ague day."
The marriage of course could no more be postponed at its stage of progress than
could the " shake" in its inevitable course, but still the judge fortified himself
against the attack by taking a huge dose of quinine in the morning, and, to make
assurance doubly sure, reinforced it with a still larger reserve dose at noon, and
by the time the wedding-party arrived the judge was " as crazy as a loon." Right
here came in the ever-fertile wit of the ladies to surmount all difficulties in the

14

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

way of a good matrimonial venture, and the judge's wife soon found a way out of
this, to some people, insurmountable difficulty. She took her crazy liege to the
well, and drenched him thoroughly with the cold water thereof, and in the lucid
interval, brief though it was, the parties were got into position and the ceremony
performed.

In Athens, in the winter of 1833, Robert McCamley and Mary Nichols were
to be married, and sent for Squire Dwinnel, who was the nearest justice, and lived
near Ceresco. The wedding ceremony was performed, and the fee paid, and the
justice departed for home, bub, on arriving there, looked at his license, and dis-
covered the house where the ceremony was performed was situated in Branch
county, where he had no jurisdiction in matters civil or official. He immediately
returned to the parties, who also, before his arrival, discovered they were not suf-
ficiently married to permit the entailing of their estate upon any posterity that
might happily result from their union ; and therefore, on the next morning, they
were put into a wagon and driven across the line into Calhoun County, and there,
with the blue-vaulted heavens for their canopy, and the flowery sod of the prairie
for their footstool, the irrevocable words were spoken that bound them to each other
for life.

THE FIRST WHITE CHILD

born in the county was Helen Chisholm, a daughter of Peter Chisholm, who opened
her eyes to the bright sunlight on the south side of the river at Marshall, in
October, 1831. The little lady was not long without company, and that too of
the right sex, for on January 22 following (1832), Luther Hays, a son of Dr.
A. L. Hays, put in his appearance on the stage of action, and Calhoun had as
many " sorts" as her older sisters. The next babies who came to gladden the
forest homes of the pioneers were Ellen Minerva Chisholm, a daughter of Thomas
Chisholm, and Mark McCamley, a son of Sands McCamley, and who now lives
at Battle Creek, who were born in 1832. A daughter, Mary, was also born that
year to Lot Whitcomb, in Athens township. The first child above named is now
Mrs. Cox, of Gem Plains, Kalamazoo county. Luther Hays died in his youth,
at the age of fifteen years or thereabouts. The second Miss Chisholm married a
Mr. Boughton, and is now deceased. Whether Mary Whitcomb is living or not
we have no information.

THE FIRST DEATH

that occurred in the county was that of Isaac N. Hurd, who died in 1832, when the
cholera ravaged the settlements in the county, taking in all fourteen* victims.
The following incident touching Mr. Hurd's death is related by Mrs. Dr. Hays, now
residing at Clinton, Iowa. When Rev. J. D. Pierce came to Marshall, in 1831,
there was no house for him except a double log house built by some young men
for a boarding-house, and he made arrangements to go into that, and the young
men built them another for a private room. They were gathered there in the
evening of the same night Mr. Hurd was attacked with the scourge, he being
among the number. The evening was spent in flute-playing and singing, one of the
pieces sung being the familiar lines, " The burial of Sir John Moore," at the close of
which Mr. Hurd remarked that when he died he would like to be buried in the
manner indicated by the lines just sung. Soon after, Mr. Hurd was attacked with
the disease in its most virulent form, dying the next day, and was buried at midnight
by torchlight, not particularly because of his wish to that effect, but because he could
not be prepared for burial sooner, and they dared not delay the sad service longer.
The wife of Rev. Mr. Pierce was also one of the victims, and the husband, alone in
his grief and great affliction, with his own hands prepared her for burial, and, assisted
by Randall Hobart, committed her to the earth. Eight died in Marshall out of a
population of seventy souls. On Dry prairie, Warren Nichols, his wife and three
children were stricken down and died, and also Isaac Crossett.

CEMETERIES.

Before a burial-place had been laid out or a cemetery surveyed in the county,
death had begun his harvests, and tender buds, opening flowers, and ripened fruit
had been garnered beneath the flower-bedecked sod of the openings and prairies,
upon whose cold and pulseless forms tears of affection had fallen from the eyes of
mourners, who, pausing for a brief moment to lay their treasures away, turned again
to resume the broken thread of an imperative present. There was no time for use-
less regrets ; no words of affection or piteous plea could again call from the relentless
grasp of the reaper — whose sable plumes cast a shadow upon our homes, and send
a chill through our hearts — the loved and the lost ! The stern duties of the
pioneers' lives demanded instant and constant recognition, and there was no choice
but in obedience, which was rendered as cheerfully as circumstances would allow.
The first burial-place assigned especially for the sepulture of the dead was a flat
on which the victims of the cholera were buried, in Marshall, on the land of Mr.

* Eight in Marshall and six in Athens.

Hurd, and which after his decease his heirs gave to the village for burial purposes.
This was used until 1839, when the Marshall Cemetery Company was formed, and
the beginning of the present eligibly located and naturally lovely grounds made.

CHAPTER V.

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION ROADS TRAILS — BRIDGES — TAVERNS MAIL

ROUTES — STAGE-COACHES — POST-OFFICES — RAILROADS — STEAMBOAT NAVI-
GATION ON THE KALAMAZOO.

For a sociable people, means of communication are a sine qua non, and the
pioneers of Calhoun being pre-eminently of that class of people, were not long in
their settlements before roads were surveyed and " blazed," and, as fast as possi-
ble, cut through the forests, whereby their intercourse could be free and unre-
stricted. When the first settlers came into the county they followed the trails of
the Indians, which, though devious, were always over the hardest ground, making
wide detours sometimes to avoid a marsh, and again taking a line " as the crow
flies," for some crossing of a creek or morass, where the traverse was accessible
and safe. Through the woods in all directions these trails were struck, and in
many instances government roads followed the meanderings of the same in their
early location.

The great Chicago national military road from Detroit, between the city of
Tecumseh and its terminus, follows to-day, with the exception of one mile in
Washtenaw county, the trail of the Sacs on their annual pilgrimages to Maiden
for the annuity of the British government from the beginning of the nineteenth
century. Along that trail Black Hawk marshaled his fierce warriors and their
women and children, and returned laden with the finery of the traders, the coureur
des bois, and sometimes with the " squiby" (whisky) of the settlers.

The first road surveyed through Calhoun County was ordered by the legislative
council of the Territory of Michigan on November 4, 1829, which began " in the
Chicago road at or near the inn of Timothy S. Sheldon, in the township of Ply-
mouth, in the county of Wayne, thence west on the most direct and eligible route
through the village of Ann Arbor, by Samuel Clements, to Grand river, where
the St. Joseph trail crosses the same, and also through the Cohgwagiac* and Grand
prairies, thence westerly on the most eligible route to or near the Pawpaw to the
mouth of the St. Joseph river of Lake Michigan." The commissioners to survey
and establish the road were Seeley Neale, of Panama (afterwards of Marengo
township, of Calhoun County), and Orrin White, of Ann Arbor, of Washtenaw
county, and Jehial Enos, of " Grand Prairie of the Kalamazoo." In March, 1831,
the legislative council approved the survey, and established the same as a public
highway.

The second road was established July 30, 1830, beginning at the intersection
of the north line of the Salt Springs reservation, in the county of Washtenaw,
with the Chicago road, thence westerly, via the north bend of the Raisin, through
Nottawa-seepe prairie to Young's prairie (Cass county). Orange Risdon, Alfred
Davis, and B. Holms were the commissioners. Afterwards a road was established
from Jacksonburg (Jackson), via Spring Arbor, Homer, Tekonsha, Burlington,
through Nottawa-seepe prairie, via Centreville to White Pigeon, in St. Joseph
county, which traversed the same route, or nearly so, through Calhoun County,
in 1833.

On June 18, 1832, roads from Battle Creek to the mouth of the Kalamazoo
river, and from Blissfield to Marshall, were laid out and established. The com-
missioners of the first one were Isaac Barnes, Wm. Duncan, and Caleb Eldred, the
latter the first settler in Comstock, and who died in 1876, over one hundred years
old. The commissioners on the second survey were Isaac N. Swaine, Sidney Ket-
chum, and Isaac E. Crary.

A road was laid from Marshall to Grand Rapids, " beginning at the junction
of La Plaisance Bay and Chicago roads, thence through Marshall to the rapids of
the Grand river," in 1833. Commissioners, Louis Campau, Joseph W. Brown,
and Oshea Wilder.

Roads from Marshall to Coldwater, and from county-seat of Hillsdale county to
Marshall, were established in 1833. One from Ypsilanti to the north bend of the
St. Joseph river, in Calhoun County (near Homer, in Clarendon township), and
from Marshall to Climax prairie, were laid out and established by the territorial
government in 1834.

* Goguac, in Battle Creek township.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

15

THE FIRST BRIDGE

over the Kalamazoo was built by George Ketehum as engineer, Dr. A. L. Hays,
and a hired man of each of the individuals named, in the winter of 1831-32, on
or near the same location of the present bridge by Perrin's stone mill (or the
ruins thereof). It served for years, until the present one was built. For a sub-
stitute previously, Dr. Hays and Peter Chisholm felled a tree on the south shore
of the river, which spanned the channel between that shore and the island, just
below the site of the present iron bridge, and then felled another, which spanned
the channel between the island and the north shore.

THE FIRST TAVERN

opened in the county was S. Camp's, in Marshall, in 1832, which was kept in
a frame building put up by the host himself. Rev. John D. Pierce kept a board-
ing-house, by reason of a contract with the parties of whom he bought or leased
his house, the double log, in 1831, but never called it a hotel. Camp's house
was known as the Exchange. Mr. Vandenburgh succeeded him in its proprietor-
ship.

THE FIRST MAIL ROUTE

was established in the fall of 1832, from Jackson via Marshall to Centreville in
St. Joseph county. Camp was the first mail contractor, and also operated the

FIRST LINE OF STAGES

coming into the county between Jackson and Marshall, the old sheriff of St.
Joseph county, E. A. Trumbull, being the contractor and stage proprietor between
Marshall and Centreville. Camp's stages were open lumber- wagons, however.
Later on, when the railroad reached Jackson, Zenas Tillotson ran fine coaches,
with four and six horses, between that point and Niles, and earlier between Ann
Arbor and Niles. Tillotson succeeded Camp on the stage route in 1835, and
operated the stage line till the railroad came.

THE FIRST POST-OFFICE

was established in the county at Marshall, in 1832, George Ketehum being the
postmaster. The mail was brought on horseback, and Mrs. Ketehum used to
change the same in the absence of her husband, using her sleeping apartment for
the purpose, and keeping the mail for the settlement in a cigar-box. Mr. Ket-
ehum was succeeded by Rev. John D. Pierce, who used his clock-case for the
receptacle of the postal matter. There are twenty post-offices at the present time
in the county, including two or more money-order offices.

RAILROADS.

The railroad agitation in the county began in 1840, the first meeting being
held in Marshall, on the 27th of January of that year. Philo Dibble was the
chairman, and S. S. Alcott secretary; and the meeting memorialized the legisla-
ture to push forward the completion of the Michigan Central railroad, then owned
and being constructed by the State. On September 8, 1841, proposals for grading
and bridging the road from Jackson to Marshall were called for, and the road
completed to Jackson in December, 1841. It was not completed to Marshall
until August 10, 1844, when the first arrival of cars was greeted with great
enthusiasm.

The Michigan Central air line, under the name of the Michigan air line, from
Jackson to Niles via Homer and Tekonsha, was completed in or about the year
1870, those two townships contributing liberally in aid of its construction. The
Michigan Northern railroad was constructed through Homer and Albion in the
year following, those towns also aiding generously in its construction, and in
1868-69 the Peninsular railroad was built through Battle Creek, that city giving
a handsome bonus to the company to aid the building thereof.

In 1844 the total receipts of the Michigan Central road in the State were

$211,169.84, of which $83,551.03 were for passenger traffic, and the balance for

freight and carrying mails. Its expenses were $121,750.20 for operating and

repairs, $25,345.31 were paid into the State treasury, $57,424.53 paid for iron,

and balance used for construction of side tracks, etc. The road was graded to

Kalamazoo in 1844-45. There are now about ninety miles of main track in

the county, besides the grade of the Mansfield, Coldwater, and Lake Michigan

railroad, and the Marshall and Coldwater railroad, the latter roads not being

•

ironed at the present writing. These roads have been liberally aided, but their

further construction seems to be in doubt ; it is to be hoped they will yet be com-
pleted for the benefit of the country through which they pass. The business of
the Michigan Central and Southern railroads for the year ending December 31,
1876, in the county, was as follows: Freight forwarded, 104,249,100 pounds;
freight received, 73,575,542 pounds ; passenger traffic, $74,060.93.

The first express company which transacted business in the county was Wells
& Co., who opened an office in Marshall in September, 1844. Zenas Tillotson
was the conductor of the first passenger-train that arrived at that place, in August
of that year. The Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company established an office
at Marshall in the fall of 1848, the first in the county. Jabez S. Fox was the
first telegraph operator. He is now in the treasury department, Washington.

STEAMBOAT NAVIGATION

upon the Kalamazoo was once a roseate-colored vision of the people of Calhoun,
and in the struggle between Comstock and Kalamazoo for the county-seat of
Kalamazoo county, Marshall secured the plum of the declaration of its site as the
head of steamboat navigation on the Kalamazoo. But it was valueless, as no
steamer could be made of draft sufficiently light to navigate the shallows and
" riffles" of that stream, and carry any freight worth the investment.

General Isaac E. Crary and General Ezra Convis had the contract of working
the Detroit and Chicago road from the one hundred and thirty-sixth mile stake
from Detroit to the Indiana line, building bridges and cutting out the trees, grub-
bing the central thirty feet, and corduroying the marshes, etc., in 1834.

CHAPTER VI.

FIRST LAND ENTRIES — FIRST FARMS — LIVE STOCK — THE HEN FEVER — FRUIT
— IMPROVED FARM MACHINERY — PRODUCTS OF THE PRESENT — MANUFAC-
TURES — PIONEER ARTISANS — TRADERS — MANUFACTURES OF THE PRESENT
— BANKING : STATE, WILD-CAT, NATIONAL.

The land office at which the first entries of public lands were made was located
at Monroe, and the entries made up to June, 1831, were all made thereat; but in
that month an office for the western part of Michigan was opened at White Pigeon,
St. Joseph county, where it remained until June, 1834, when it was removed to
Bronson, now Kalamazoo.

The first entries of public lands, as has been before stated, were made in 1830,
at Albion and Marshall, by Noble McKinstry and Ephraim Harrison. On the
5th day of February, 1831, Abram Davidson entered the west half of northwest
quarter-section 25, and Jonathan Wood entered the east half of northeast quarter-
section 26, in the township of Marshall, on which the county-seat was afterwards
located. There, were no other entries made until the 17th day of June, when
John J. Guernsey, of Duchess county, New York, entered the northeast quarter
of section 12, the south half and south half of northeast quarter, and the north-
west quarter of section 1, of Battle Creek township, and the south half of north-
west quarter and southwest quarter-section 6 of township 2, range 7 west. There
were in June of that year seventy-six entries made, and one hundred and thirty-
six during the year. A large emigration came into the county in 1833-34, but
the heaviest purchases were made in 1835-36. There were set off as university
lands, in the county, eight sections of the very best in the townships where they
are situated, viz. : six in Marshall, one each in Battle Creek and Athens.

THE FIRST FARMS OPENED

in the county were those of Dr. A. L. Hays and Sidney S. Alcott, in Marshall, in
1831, corn and potatoes being the crops raised. It is probable that crops in
greater or less quantity were raised that same year in Battle Creek, and possibly
in Albion.

LIVE STOCK.

Calhoun County farmers have, from the earliest days of their settlement, paid
more or less attention to wool-growing. As early as 1838 John Willard intro-
duced the fine-wooled Saxon sheep, from the Vernon flocks of Oneida county,
New York, and soon afterwards John D. Pierce introduced some of the same
variety. The common and coarser-wooled varieties have been graded upon the
French and Spanish Merino stock, J. D. Patterson introducing the first-named
breed at first, and afterwards the latter stock. S. G-. Pattison, John Houston,
Charles A. Miller, Martin, and the Harrises, have been and are still more or less
extensively engaged in the breeding of the American Merino. Jacob Anderson,
of Albion, is a heavy wool-grower, having a fine graded flock of some hundreds
of animals at the present time. George Hentig, a farmer near Marshall, intro-
duced Cotswold sheep in 1845. Devillo and Lawrence Hubbard are, and have
been for some years, engaged in breeding Leicester and Cotswold sheep. Colonel
William C. Fonda, of Bedford, in 1854, introduced Merino sheep into this town-
ship, thoroughbreds from the celebrated flocks of Vermont. In 1837 Judge Dickey

16

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

bought all of the wool grown in the six counties of Calhoun, Branch, Kalamazoo,
Barry, Eaton, and Jackson, and the whole clip amounted to less than eight thou-
sand pounds. In 1873 the clip of Calhoun alone was 486,355 pounds, 90,849
sheep being sheared.

BLOODED CATTLE

were first introduced into the county by S. G. Pattison and G. W. Dryer, of
Marengo, about the year 1850. The animals were from the Weddle herds of
. " short horns," of Ontario county, New York, and descendants of imported stock.
Mr. Pattison is still engaged in breeding that variety of stock. Yan Buren Hyde,
of Fredonia, has also a fine herd of ten animals of the same stock. Samuel
Wormley, in 1852, introduced the Kentucky short-horns, from the noted Clay
herds of the blue-grass regions; and.H. A. Tillotson, also about that time, and
later, was an extensive breeder of the same variety, from the Ontario county herds,
New York. In 1855 Colonel Fonda introduced some fine Durhams from the
John North farm, of Chester county, Pennsylvania, and later, procured some very
fine Alderneys from Burton, who imported direct from Bates, of England. W.
H. Hewitt, of Marshall, has some fine Alderneys also.

The stock of horses in Calhoun County for draft and roadster purposes is good,
and many fine animals are owned by the citizens thereof. S. G. Pattison has been
interested somewhat extensively in the breeding of horses, and Kellogg, of Battle
Creek, about 1856 to 1860, introduced a good horse known as " Old Champion,"
who gave his characteristics to a large posterity. Goodrich, of Albion, introduced
the Black Hawk Morgan stock, from Yermont. In 1861, Dr. A. L. Hays, who
always had good horses about him, brought in an English coacher stallion, called
" Admiration," who left some fifteen or twenty fine colts, whose descendants are
still found in the county, and exhibit the same showy, stylish figure and bright
brown or bay color of the sire, but like him lack speed. He died from an injury
received on shipboard while crossing the Atlantic.

SWINE.

John Willard introduced Berkshire hogs quite early, but the stock was neglected,
and not much attention paid to improvement of swine until after 1850. In 1852,
Mr. Wormley introduced a pair of Suffolks from imported stock of Sherwood, of
Auburn, New York, and Stickney, of Boston, the progeny of which were exten-
sively sought after throughout the county and elsewhere. In I860, he introduced
the Chester county white hog, and by a fortunate cross upon an unknown white
bog obtained a very valuable animal, which proved quite popular, and is still
raised in the county. The Berkshires were re-introduced after 1860, William
Conley breeding them now for sale. W. H. Witt, of Marshall, is an extensive
breeder of Poland-China stock, and Arza C. Robinson also breeds both Berkshire
and the latter variety. The Newberrys have always been good feeders, and raised
fine animals. Grove C. Brackett, of Convis, was formerly in the business some-
what largely. Colonel Fonda also introduced Chester county " whites" in 1860.

Poultry is receiving considerable attention in the county, the " hen fever" com-
mencing its ravages in 1853-54, the first victim being Samuel Wormley. The
attack was slight at first, but it rapidly assumed serious complications, and at one
time, before convalescence intervened, Brahmas and Cochins, buff, brown and white,
and the various breeds which have " ruled the roost," in the palmy days of Chan-
ticleer and Partlett, were to be seen in his well-kept parks. Wild turkeys were
re-introduced to the haunts from which civilization had driven them, by Mr.
Wormley, and crossed upon the domestic black turkey produced a fine, hardy fowl.
Wormley's first venture was a single egg, deposited by an imported Brahma, in
transition in the box in which she was confined, and theVe being no contract with
the express company for the transportation of eggs, the prize fell to Mr. Wormley,
by right of discovery. He gave it to an ordinary dung-hill fowl to incubate, and
a fine pullet was the result. A cockerel was bought by him, and thus the Brahma
invasion of Calhoun was begun. Mark Hurd and S. B. Smith are breeders of
fancy poultry in Marshall, and Frank Gray, of Battle Creek, is an extensive
breeder of game fowls.

FRUIT.

The first orchard planted out in the county was one by Oshea Wilder, and was
located in the township of Eckford. W. E. Sawyer planted out a nursery on
seminary lands soon after. Mr. Wilder gave considerable attention to fruit-grow-
ing while he lived. Peaches formerly were very abundant in the county, but the
severity of the climate has rendered this delicious fruit an uncertain product, yet
at times good crops are still raised. In 1872 nearly fifteen hundred bushels were
raised. Small fruits and grapes thrive well and produce fine fruit, and have been
cultivated many years. Cranberries are found in various parts of the county in
their wild state, but no attempts have been made to domesticate this fruit, or pay
much attention to its culture.

IMPROVED FARM MACHINERY.

The farmers of Calhoun County coming, as the greater portion of them did,
from New York and New England, were not long in introducing newer and better
methods of preparing the soil and harvesting and thrashing their crops, than those
which were in vogue at first. The flail was too slow a process to use where wheat
produced thirty-five bushels per acre, and from forty to one hundred acres of the
cereal was grown in a season ; and horses tramping out the grain was too dirty a
way to be endured any longer than possible, especially as the zephyrs had to be
utilized to winnow the chaff away. Therefore it was but a short time after the
first farms were opened before the open cylinder thrashers made their appearance,
accompanied by the fanning mill. These latter were largely manufactured in 1836,
and later by Judge Dickey, at Marshall. The reaper was introduced after 1844,
and the separator thrashing-machine about the same time. Plows were improved
about 1840 and after, but the old breaking plow that required ten yoke of good
oxen to drag it through the grubs held its place for a long time, until the farms
were well subdued.

The surplus wheat of the crop of 1840 was placed by the Statesman at 268,000
bushels, and of other grain at 44,000 bushels, and the surplus pork, butter, and
cheese, at 350 tons. In 1847 there were shipped from Calhoun County, by the
Michigan Central railroad, 104,037 barrels of flour, being 10,000 more barrels
than Jackson and Kalamazoo combined, and 40,000 more than Jackson alone.

PRODUCTS OF THE PRESENT.

The census of 1874 gives the following exhibit of farm lands and products
raised in 1873: 65,777 acres in wheat produced 951,828 bushels, and 27,711
acres in corn produced 1,079,161 bushels, and there were of other grain raised
417,681 bushels. Potatoes, 144,533 bushels; hay, 31,377 tons; wool, 486,355
pounds ; pork marketed, 2,331,092 pounds ; cheese made, 16,498 pounds; butter,
1,019,921 pounds; fruit dried for market, 212,008 pounds; cider made, 11,309,
and 110 gallons of wine, with 8380 pounds of maple-sugar; 8284 acres in or-
chards, vineyards, small fruits, melons, and garden vegetables produced 325,427
bushels of apples, 30 bushels of peaches, 1465 bushels of pears, 72 bushels of
plums, 5865 bushels cherries, 665 hundredweight of grapes, 387 bushels straw-
berries, 1744 bushels currants and gooseberries, and 30,844 bushels melons and
vegetables, the value of all such fruit and garden vegetables being $115,791. In
1874 there were owned in the county 10,664 horses, 134 mules, 446 work oxen,
10,804 cows, 9490 other neat cattle one year old and over, 22,712 swine over
six months old, and 81,465 sheep over six months old. There were 439,629 acres
of taxable land in the county, and 1546 acres exempt from taxation, the latter
valued at $999,735. The improved lands covered an area of 242,529 acres.
There were 3786 farms, averaging 103.89 acres. The lands exempted from taxa-
tion included 842.46 acres railroad grounds, 213.75 acres owned by poor persons
unable to pay taxes, 100.75 acres in school sites, 46.25 acres church property,
146.50 acres burying grounds, 7 acres fair grounds, 177.75 acres other public
purposes, and 12 acres for libraries and benevolent institutions, etc.

The manufactures of the county of Calhoun have been in times past much more
flourishing than now, but they are such at the present time as to be no inconsid-
erable portion of the wealth of the community. They began at a very small point
and have enlarged to a magnificent circle, that brings to the notice of a large
area of our country the products of that branch of Calhoun's industries. The
first manufacture of any kind in the county, aside from the Indian or pioneer mill,
— hollowed out of a stump and an iron wedge lashed into a stick attached to a
spring pole, to beat and bruise the corn, — was the saw-mill built by George
Ketchum, on Rice creek, in Marshall, in the summer of 1831. He followed this
with a flouring-mill, which began to be operated the latter part of 1832, and was
for years patronized from all portions of the county. Benjamin Wright was the
millwright. A. B. Cook began the manufacture of wagons in 1832, the first one
built in the county being sold, by him, to S. Camp, who ran it as a stage between
Jackson and Marshall, the summer of 1833. Mr. Cook's shop and machinery
were .somewhat primitive. While the grist-mill was in process of construction
"and nearing its completion, the tub-wheel being in position, Mr. Cook obtained
permission to attach his turning-lathe to the shaft and use it for a day or so. He
made his attachment with a gearing attached to a tamarack-pole connecting with
his lathe, and thus obtained power by which he turned two sets of wagon-hubs
and some table- and bedstead-legs, working one day and night thereat. With
these he made two tables, two bedsteads, and two wagons, giving one of the
former to Mr. Ketchum, and keeping the other himself, which is in his house at
the present time. Asahel Warner hewed and squared the plank and timber for
the first saw-mill, and the bents were raised by means of trees bent down, by the
recoil of which the men were greatly aided in their work. In 1835 the first saw-
mill was erected at Albion, by Tenney Peabody and Wareham Warner. In 1837,

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

17

Asa B Cook Sidney Ketchum, and Arza C. Kobinson began the erection of the
first stone flouring-mill in the county. The Ketchum mill was a frame building,
twenty-five by thirty-five feet on the ground, with a basement and one and a half
story and two run of burr-stone. The stone mill had four run of stone, and was
devoted to merchant work. They hauled their flour to Ypsilanti at first, and then
to Ann Arbor. In 1837, during the great emigration, flour rose to twenty
dollars per barrel, but fell off again in the fall, and wheat sold at one dollar per
bushel. The first oil-mill erected in the State was built in Marshall, by Lewis
Wilson and Darius Clark, in 1839, and the farmers went into the flax culture,
but it was not a long-lived business. The first furniture manufacturing, aside
from Mr. Cook's first venture, was done by H. W. Pendleton, in Marshall, in
1833. He was succeeded by F. A. Kingsbury in 1835, who conducted an ex-
tensive business. The first foundry built in the county was erected by Lansing
Kingsbury and Josiah Leffer, in the spring of 1 836, in Marshall. Douglass built
thrashing-machines in the same place in 1843, or thereabouts. In 1836, Judge
Dickey engaged extensively in the manufacture of fanning-mills, selling them all
over the county and into Indiana, and west to Niles. In 1840, J. D. Pierce
and Frink built a flouring-mill at Ceresco, which did an extensive business for
many years, and one on the same site is now in operation. Mr. Alcott also had
a mill in Marengo in 1840. At one time it was shown by the census reports
that Calhoun had more run of stone in operation within her boundaries than
any other county in the State. In 1873, Oakland county only exceeded her ;
Calhoun having seventy-two runs, and Oakland ninety-three runs. The great
manufacturing establishments of the present, in the county, are Nichols & Shep-
herd's foundry and machine-shop in Battle Creek, and the Gale Manufacturing
Company of Albion, besides the heavy flouring-mills in various parts of the
county. In 1841 there were thirteen flour-mills in the county, with forty-one
run of stone ; twenty-one saw-mills ; two iron-foundries ; two carding-machines ;
one oil-mill, and one limestone quarry, whose estimated product, in pounds, was
placed at one thousand five hundred and eighty-five tons. The capital invested
in business in the county in mercantile and manufacturing transactions was placed
at five hundred and fifty thousand dollars. There were thirty merchants then.
The first tannery operated in the county was one at Albion, in 1842.

PIONEER ARTISANS.

The first blacksmith who built and worked in his own shop was Peter Chis-
holm, who worked in the village of Marshall in the summer of 1831. The first
carpenter to follow his trade for a business was Asahel Warner, also in Marshall,
and the first job was done on G-eorge Ketchum's saw-mill, in hewing the plank
and squaring the timber for the same. L. G. Crossman was also a pioneer carpen-
ter, and followed his trade from March 1, 1832, for five or more years. The first
shoemaker was H. C. Goodrich, also of Marshall, whither he came in 1831. The
first wagon-maker and furniture-manufacturer was Asa B. Cook, in Marshall, in
1832. The first tailor was William R. McCall, who opened his shop in Marshall
in 1833, and still continues to ply his vocation in that city ; when he first came
he had to bake his goose at a neighbor's. H. W. Pendleton was the first chair-
manufacturer, and was also the first to follow furniture-making as a business, and
he began in Marshall, in 1833. S. S. Burpee was the first tinsmith in the county,
and he was at Marshall too, in 1835. In 1874, there were over one thousand five
hundred artisans of all kinds in the county.

PIONEER TRADERS.

The first merchant to open a stock of goods for retailing, aside from the Indian
traders, was Charles D. Smith, who brought a small stock of general merchandise
to Marshall in 1832 ; and Messrs. Trowbridge and Babcock (the former now a
resident of Kalamazoo), agents of Charles Winslow, of Brockport, New York,
opened the second stock of similar goods in the winter of 1833-34. The first hard-
ware stock was that of Schuyler and Wallingford, who opened the same in the
same locality, in 1836-37. The first-named partner, Montgomery Schuyler, has
been for the past twenty-five years an eminent Episcopalian divine of St. Louis,
Missouri. The first drug-store opened was that of Drs. Comstock & Mont-
gomery, in 1836, though the other merchants kept an assortment of standard drugs
and medicines. A. 0. Hyde opened his stock in Marshall in 1840, and still con-
tinues therein. There were in 1874 three hundred and five merchants of all
classes in the county.

MANUFACTURES OF THE PRESENT.
In 1873 there were in the county the following manufactories : twenty flouring-
mills, three of which were operated by steam- and seventeen by water-power,
having seventj-two run of stone, employing sixty persons, and an investment of
$337,000, which manufactured one hundred and twenty thousand nine hundred
and thirty-three barrels of flour, valued at $1;063,731 ; twenty-one saw-mills,
o

six operated by steam and fifteen by water, employed forty-two persons and an
investment of $53,700, and manufactured three million nine hundred and seventy-
one thousand three hundred feet of lumber, valued at $69,580 ; six planing-
mills and sash, door, aud blind factories, four operated by steam- and two by water-
power, employed fifty-four persons and a capital of $48,500, whose product was
valued at $59,500 ; six machine-shops and foundries, three steam-, two water-
and one other power, employed two hundred and ninety-eight persons and a capi-
tal of $636,500, whose products were valued at $718,800 ; three steam- and one
water-power agricultural implement works employed one hundred and five men,
$119,000 capital, and produced goods valued at $145,000 ; five carriage- and wagon-
factories employed seventy-seven persons, $83,800 capital, and manufactured $87,-
500 worth of stock ; two steam chair- and furniture-factories employed fifty- one
persons, $36,200 capital, and their product was valued at $62,500 ; two pump-
factories, steam- and water-power, employed seventeen persons, $15,000 capital,
and manufactured stock valued at $17,000 ; one stave-heading and hoop factory,
steam, employed eight persons, $3000 capital, and its product was valued at
$7200 ; five cooperage factories employed thirty-three persons, $11,050 capital,
and produced goods valued at $37,200 ; two tanneries employed eighteen persons,
$44,500 capital, and their product was valued at $38,000 ; three saddle, harness,
and trunk factories employed nineteen persons, $13,000 capital, and their product
was valued at $34,000 ; one axe and edge-tool factory employed ten persons,
$11,000 capital, whose product was valued at $50,000 ; two breweries employed
four persons and a capital of $7000, which brewed one thousand barrels of beer,
valued at $7500 ; two tobacco and cigar manufactories employed sixty-six per-
sons and a capital of $50,500, whose product was valued at $88,800 ; one paper-
mill employed fifteen persons and a capital of $20,000, whose product was valued
at $50,000 ; one boot and shoe factory employed eleven persons and $1300
capital, and produced $9000 worth of stock ; two clothing manufactories, one
steam- and one water-power, employed eighty-four persons, and a capital of $84,-
500, whose product was valued at $129,000 ; one soap-factory used three persons
and $2500 capital, and made $1800 worth of the saponaceous compound ; two
vinegar and cider establishments employed four persons and $1000 capital, and
made $2000 worth of cider and vinegar; one brick-yard employed eight men
and $1500 capital, and made $8000 worth of goods ; three marble- works or stone-
yards employed ten persons and $11,000 capital, whose product was valued at
$18,000 ; one gun shop, one blank-book manufactory, and one chewing-gum
factory employed thirty-one men and a capital of $12,200, whose product was
valued at $27,700. The aggregate of manufactures in 1873 included one hun-
dred establishments, twenty-seven operated by steam, forty-four by water, and
twenty-three by other power, one thousand and thirty-eight employees, and over
$1,600,000 capital, whose products were valued at over $2,750,000.

BANKING.

The facilities for exchange between the east and west in the early days of
Calhoun's settlement were meagre, and when the merchant flouring-mills were
built, flour was the medium of transmission between the western merchants and
their eastern creditors. But banks were not only a necessity even in those early
days, but also a decided convenience ; and soon after the settlement at Marshall
had acquired a permanency, steps were taken to establish a medium of exchange
and discount, and a place of deposit for surplus funds of the mercantile and manu-
facturing community. The Calhoun County bank was chartered in 1836 under
the safety fund system ; Sidney Ketchum being the first and only president and
George S. Wright the first cashier, W. B. Porter afterwards succeeding as cashier.
Its capital was one hundred thousand dollars, and it continued to do business
until September 15, 1840, when it ceased operations. Mr. Ketchum was the
manager of the institution during its entire career. The history of its organiza-
tion is briefly this : There were at the time two rival portions of Marshall vil-
lage, — the upper and lower village, the east and west ends of the same. The
west end was the town, and the east principally a frog-pond. The west end mag-
nates were Dr. Hays, S. Camp, Charles D. Smith, S. S. Alcott, and others, and
the eastern ones the Ketchums, Sidney and George. The books were opened at
the National — now the Facey — House, and the stock was being subscribed by the
west-enders quietly, no one having appeared from the east end until towards
evening, when, just before the closing of the books, George Ketchum came in,
took up the book, and looked it over, after which he took his seat and began to
subscribe for himself and friends various amounts of stock, and pay into the hat,
the receptacle for the first cash instalment, the five per cent, of the subscrip-
tions demanded on the same. The subscriptions grew apace and the money
accumulated in the hat, until the west-enders began to grow alarmed as they
saw the Ketchums and their adherents getting control of the stock, and the
fairy visions of ban^: directorships, presidency, and cashierships began to dissipate
into thin air ; whereupon Smith, by a coup de main, got possession of the book,

18

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

when Ketchum reached for the deposits, which he succeeded in retaining, and the
work of organization was suspended. However, the matter was compromised by
the Ketchums securing a controlling interest, and a bank building was erected
just inside the line of the plat of the lower village, and business operations
carried on there.

The next attempt at banking was under the " wild-cat" system, the felines
which afflicted Calhoun with their ravages being the banks of Marshall, Battle
Creek, Homer, and Albion, organized in the early part of the summer of 1837.
Horace Brace was president and Joseph C. Frink cashier of the one at Mar-
shall, and the office of the bank was in the new court-house in 1838, but the close
of the year saw the claws of the " varmints'' extracted, and their power for mis-
chief annihilated, together with the system that gave them birth. Their capital
authorized by law was four hundred thousand dollars. Private banking was carried
on successfully from 1840, at Marshall, by Charles T. Gorham, and Horace J.
Perrin later, and by others in Battle Creek, but no regularly chartered bank was
organized after the collapse of the Calhoun County bank in 1840, until the Bank
of Michigan was organized in 1863 in Marshall, under the State banking law,
with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars ; Joseph Sibley president, William
Powell cashier, which was subsequently reorganized as the National bank of
Michigan, Horace J. Perrin president, in 1865.

There are at the present time five National banks in the county ; the National
bank of Michigan, the First National and City National of Marshall, First
National of Battle Creek, and National Exchange of Albion, with a capital, surplus,
and undivided profits in January, 1877, amounting to $842,909.67. Their
outstanding circulation amounted to $432,800, secured by United States bonds
amounting to $484,000. Their deposits, on certificate and subject to check, were
$473,123.99, and their loans and discounts amounted to $902,617.34. Their
real estate, furniture, and fixtures were valued at $72,249.44, and there were due
them from approved reserve agents, other National and State banks, and bankers
$124,277.47. Their cash on hand in their vaults amounted to $102,078.66, and
their redemption fund with the United States treasurer, five per cent, of their
circulation, amounted to $20,980 ; their total assets being $1,769,555.89, and
their total liabilities, other than to their individual stockholders and on account
of their circulation, being $493,846.22.

CHAPTER VII.

CIVIL ORGANIZATION — COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP BOUNDARIES — FIRST OFFICIAL
ACT — EARLIEST DATED DEED — FIRST VILLAGE PLATS — THE COURTS, CIR-
CUIT, COUNTY, AND PROBATE — CELEBRATED CAUSES — BOARD OF SUPER-
VISORS — ASSESSMENTS AND TAXES — COUNTY BUILDINGS — COURT-HOUSE,
JAIL, AND ALMSHOUSE — SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE POOR.

The boundaries of Calhoun County were assigned by the legislative council
of the Territory of Michigan, October 29, 1829, and were as follows : " So much
of the country as lies south of the base line, and north of line between townships
4 and 5, south of the base line, and west of the line between ranges 3 and 4,
west of the meridian, and east of the line between ranges 8 and 9, west of the
meridian, be and the same is hereby set off into a separate county, and the name
thereof shall be Calhoun." The county was so named in honor of John C. Cal-
houn, who was then a member of President Jackson's cabinet. On the 4th day
of November, 1829, Calhoun County was attached to St. Joseph county for
judicial purposes, which connection continued until July 30, 1830, when Kala-
mazoo county was organized, and Calhoun was attached to it, for similar purposes.
At the date of the attachment of the county to St. Joseph, all of the country
embracing the unorganized counties of Branch, Calhoun, and Eaton, and the
country lying north of Eaton, was formed into one township, called Green, which
sent one supervisor, Seth Dunham, to the October meeting of the board of super-
visors of St. Joseph county, in 1830, which board was composed of four members :
two from St. Joseph county proper, — Luther Newton, of White Pigeon, and Henry
Powers, of Nottaway prairie ; and one from Kalamazoo county, then organized,
together with territory to the north, as the township of Brady ; William Duncan,
and Dunham as before named, from Green,

In the year 1831 Governor Porter appointed Roger Sprague, Thomas Rowland,
and Joseph W. Torrey commissioners to locate the county-seat of Calhoun County,
and they reported in favor of its location " at a point in the line dividing sections
25 and 26, township 2 south, range 6 west (Marshall), at or very near the
centre of the west half of northwest quarter section 25, and east half of northeast

quarter section 26, being northeast distant about three miles from the geograph-
ical centre of the county. Governor Porter issued his proclamation establishing
the same in accordance with the commissioners' report, October 17, 1831.

On the 29th of June, 1832, the whole county was organized into one township,
called Marshal, as the name was then spelled, and the first town-meeting ordered
to be held at the school-house, in the village of Marshal, on the first Tuesday of
September following. General Isaac E. Crary was appointed the first justice of
the peace for the township, then under the jurisdiction of Kalamazoo county.
On the 6th day of March, 1833, Calhoun County was organized, and a term of
the circuit court of the Territory ordered to be held therein in November follow-
ing, to which court all suits pending in any court or before any justice of the
peace in Kalamazoo county were to be transferred to prosecute to final judgment
and execution, and all taxes levied in Calhoun were to be collected there the same
as though it was unorganized. On the 29th of March the township of Marshall
was reorganized, and its boundaries limited to townships 3 and 4 south in ranges

4 and 5 west, and townships 1, 2, 3, and 4 in range 6 west, and the name changed
to Marshall, in honor of the chief-justice of the United States supreme court.
At the same date the townships of Marengo and Milton were organized, the
former including within its boundaries townships 1 and 2 south, ranges 4 and

5 west, and the first town-meeting was ordered to be held at the house of Loren
Maynard. Milton included townships 1,2,3, and 4 south, in ranges 7 and 8 west ;
and the first town-meeting was ordered to be held at the house of Pollidore Hud-
son. In 1840 the name of the township was changed to Battle Creek, after the
stream of that name passing through it, and included then a single government
township, — township 2, range 8. On March 7, 1834, Homer township was organ-
ized, and included in its limits townships 3 and 4 south, ranges 4 and 5 west ; and
the first town-meeting was directed to be held at Barney's. On March 17, 1835,
Athens township was organized, including townships 3 and 4 south, ranges 7 and
8 west, and the first town-meeting appointed at Lot Whitcomb's house. Eckford,
Sheridan, and Tekonsha were set off into separate townships in 1836, and included
township 3, range 5 west, township 2, range 6 west, and township 4, range 6
west, respectively within their limits. In 1837, Burlington, Albion, and Convis
were set off as independent sovereignties, and included in their boundaries town-
ships 3 and 4, range 7 west, township 3 south, range 4, and township 1 south,
range 6 west, respectively. In 1838, the townships of Cady, Clarendon, Fredo-
nia, Le Roy, Newton, and Pennfield were assigned a separate civil existence, and
included a single government township each in their limits, viz. : Cady (which was
changed to Emmett in 1839), township 2 south, range 7 ; Clarendon, township
4 south, range 5 ; Fredonia, township 4 south, range 6 ; Le Roy, township 3
south, range 8 ; Newton, township 3 south, range 7 ; Pennfield, township 1, range

7. In 1839, a township including township 1 south, range 4, was set off under
the name of Pinckney, and the name changed in 1841 to Clarence. Bedford was
also organized in 1839, and included, as at present, township 1 south, range 8.
Lee was organized in 1840, making the roll of townships complete, and included,
as at present, township 1, range 5. The cities of Battle Creek and Marshall
were chartered as independent municipalities in 1859, and include four sections
each in their limits, viz. : Battle Creek, sections 1 and 2, township 2 south, range

8, and sections 6 and 7, township 2 south, range 7 ; Marshall, sections 25 and
26 south, one-half sections 23 and 24, and north one-half sections 35 and 36,
township 2 south, range 6.

The county of Calhoun was surveyed into townships, in 1824, by William Mul-
lett, and subdivided into sections, in 1825, by Lyon and others.

The first official act performed by a Calhoun County officer, so far as the same
appears of record, was performed by Charles D. Smith, deputy register of probate
and deeds, by filing for record a deed executed by Tyrus and Content Hurd, of
Niagara county, New York (parents of Isaac N. Hurd, deceased), by Jarvis Hurd,
attorney in fact, in favor of Hiram Hurd, grantee, on the 3d day of June, 1833,
the deed being executed the same day. It was recorded in liber A, page 1, of
deeds.

THE EARLIEST DATED DEED

is, probably, one executed by Andrew L. Hays and Clarissa his wife to Samuel
Camp, both parties of Calhoun County, which, for the expressed consideration of
four hundred and fifty dollars, conveys to Camp the east half of northwest quarter
and west half of northeast quarter section 36, township 2 south, range 6 west. It
is dated January 7, 1832, and was acknowledged before Calvin Smith, justice of
the peace, of Calhoun County, and recorded July 19, 1833, in liber A, page 27,
of deeds.

The first village plat recorded was that of the " Lower village of Marshall,"
which was platted on the 26th of August, 1831, and recorded in Kalamazoo August
29, 1831. The proprietors of the plat were Sidney Ketchum, Isaac N. Hurd,
George Ketchum, and Calvin Smith. The " Upper village of Marshall" was sur-
veyed by Oshea Wilder for Sidney Ketchum, proprietor, and located on the east

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

19

half of northwest quarter and west half of northeast quarter, section 25, township
2, range 6 west, October 1, 1833, and recorded October 2 in liber A, miscella-
neous page 21. Albion was platted and surveyed in 1836 ; Battle Creek, June
30, 1836 ; the proprietors of the latter village being Sands McCamley and Alvah,
Joseph, and Isaac Merritt, of Saratoga county, New York, and Jonathan Hart, of
Washington county, New York. Barneyville, now Homer, was platted in 1835,
Milton Barney, proprietor, and located on sections 5, 6, 7, 8, township 4, range 4.

THE COURTS

which have held jurisdiction over the people of Calhoun County since its organ-
ization as a separate municipality have been those of the magistrates of the town-
ships, the circuit courts of the Territory and State, the probate court, the chan-
cellor's court, and the county court, in the State, besides the United States courts
of the districts and circuit of Michigan.

The first court of record holding a session in the county was the circuit court
of the Territory of Michigan ; Judge William A. Fletcher, circuit judge, and
Eleazar McCamley, associate judge, presiding. The term opened on the 7th day
of November, 1833, but, no associate appearing, Judge Fletcher adjourned the
court until the next morning, at which time Judge McCamley appeared, and the
session proceeded. The grand jury summoned for the term did not appear in
numbers sufficiently strong to make a quorum, and. there being no business, they
were discharged without being sworn. The petit jury, for the lack of work for
them to do, were likewise discharged. An order regulating the practice in the
court was entered up, and three appeal suits docketed, viz. : Benjamin H. Smith
vs. Josiah Goddard, Randall Hobart vs. George Ketchum, and Ebenezer Harris
vs. George Ketchum, and the record was read, examined, and approved by Judge
Fletcher, who appended his signature in testimony thereof, and the court adjourned,
justice being satisfied for the time being.

On May 27, 1834, the court convened again, Judge Fletcher and associates
McCamley and John V. Henry being present. The following grand jurors
appeared, and were sworn to make true presentment of all matters coming before
them, " without fear, favor, or affection, or reward, or the hope or promise there-
of:" Michael Spencer, Estes Rich, Stephen Kimball, Solon P. Davis, Abijah M.
Benson, White Ketchum, Henry Failing, Thomas J. Hurlbut, Dorrenee Williams,
Samuel Camp, Stephen Warren, Sol. M. Allen, Oshea Wilder, Warren Skinner,
Peter Holmes, Josiah Goddard, Benjamin Wright, John Ansley, Roswell Wilcox,
Powell Grover, and Moses Lowell. Oshea Wilder was appointed foreman. Ells-
worth Burnett, constable, was bailiff. The jury were discharged for want of busi-
ness. The petit jurors who responded to the venire were Erastus Kimball, C. C.
Johnson, Robert Wheaton, Sidney S. Alcott, Josiah Lepper, William Brown, Jr.,
Benjamin T. Dwinnell, Sands McCamley, Loren Maynard, Francis Phillips, John
Stewart, Henry Cook, Henry J. Phelps, Nebadiah Angel, Edward L. Rogers,
Horace P. Wisner, Stephen S. Powers, Alfred Kiliam, and Jacob Smith.

The first jury trial was on the case of Randall Hobart vs. George Ketchum,
and it resulted in a verdict for plaintiff for sixty-two dollars and eighty-seven
cents damages. Asa B. Cook, as bailiff, had charge of the jury. The other two
appeals docketed at the first term of the court were dismissed by the plaintiffs.
Further rules of practice were adopted, and the court again adjourned after a
single day's session. November 25, 1834, the court convened, Judges Fletcher
and Henry present. Sidney Ketchum was foreman of the grand jury, but there
was no business, and again the grand inquest was discharged. There were two
jury trials, the judgments amounting to seventy-two dollars and forty-nine cents,
and one day's session.

At the May term, 1835, the first chancery suit was brought, — William M.
Pearl vs. Putnam Root, — and the grand jury found the first indictment, against
Othniel Nichols for an assault and battery on Roswell Harris, and were discharged,
there being no other business. Harris was recognized to appear at the next term
as a witness. At the May term, 1836, the first attorney was admitted to the bar
of the county, — George C. Gibbs, — on the recommendation of C. A. Smith and
M. Lane. The first criminal trial was had this term, an assault and battery case,
on an indictment found at this term also, and the prisoner was fined five dollars
and costs. At the November term, 1837, Charles Allen was indicted for violating
the election laws in voting twice, and was tried and convicted ; but the judgment
of the court was arrested and the cause continued. At this time the first alien
was naturalized, — Charles McCaffrey, — who had declared his intentions of be-
coming a citizen in Vermont. • At the May term, 1838, the bank of Marshall
obtained a heavy judgment against Samuel Camp and Boville Shumway of ten
thousand three hundred and seventy-eight dollars and eighty cents on an I. 0. U.
in favor of that corporation, from which judgment, after many ingenious but vain
devices for a reversal of the same, the defendants appealed.

The business of the last term of the circuit court, held in March, 1877, was as
follows : There were sixteen days on which the court was in session, during which

there were six jury trials, two criminal trials, one for murder, wherein the de-
fendant was discharged. Judgments to the amount of eight thousand four hun-
dred and twenty-three dollars and sixty-three cents were rendered, eight decrees
in chancery, and thirty-nine interlocutory orders entered, and two aliens naturalized.
The circuit judges of the circuit of which Calhoun County has formed a part,
now the fifth judicial circuit, have been as follows : Hon. William A. Fletcher,
1833-36, under the territorial government ; Epaphroditus Ransom, 1836—43 ; Al-
pheus Felch, 1843-45 ; George Miles, 1846-50, when he died; Abner Pratt, of
Calhoun, 1850-57 ; Benjamin F. Graves, 1857-66 ; George Woodruff, Calhoun,
1866-76 ; Philip T. Van Zile, 1876, present incumbent.

CAUSES CELEBRES.

There have been several trials of persons indicted for murder, where conviction
for the crime in the first degree has been had, but none of them previous to the
abolishment of capital punishment. Among the more noted cases are the following :
John Winters, in 1848, in the township of Le Roy, clubbed his wife to death,
most brutally and causelessly. He was tried and convicted for murder in the first
degree, and sentenced to the penitentiary for life, but contrived to escape after
being confined a few years, and was not recaptured.

On December 11, 1857, Leonard Starkweather killed his wife by striking her
with a club ; a boy, an adopted son, saw the act committed. Starkweather was
convicted of manslaughter, and sent to the penitentiary for a term of years. On
November 13, 1855, De Witt C. Horton broke into the house of R. W. Pendleton,
in Marshall, and stabbed John Wiley fatally, from which Wiley died on the 15th
of the same month. Horton was tried, convicted, and sentenced to the penitentiary
for life, but was pardoned by Governor Wisner in 1859. This case was adjudicated
in the supreme court of the State, and, from certain decisions in relation to evidence,
has become a noted one in the annals of Michigan jurisprudence. At the May
term, 1856, of the circuit court Timothy Durme was convicted of the murder of
his wife, and sentenced to the penitentiary for life. The crime was committed
in the town of Bedford, by stabbing with a knife. On the first of October, 1875,
Emory Nye, in a fight in a saloon in Battle Creek, fatally stabbed Robert Moly-
neux, and was convicted of the crime of murder in the first degree, and sentenced
to the penitentiary for life at the December term of the circuit court in 1875.
The case was carried to the supreme court, and a new trial granted on the point
that malice was not proven, and on the second trial, at the December term, 1876,
he was convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to the penitentiary for twenty-five
years. In March, 1876, Austin Joyce, alias Smith, and Anna Owens were tried
for the murder of an illegitimate child of the said Anna's, of which Joyce was the
reputed father. The prisoner, Joyce, was found guilty of murder in the first
degree, the defendant, Owens, swearing the child was alive when she gave it to
him, during a ride of some miles, in which the child had been closely covered up
from the weather, which was somewhat severe. Joyce was sentenced to the peni-
tentiary for life and Owens was discharged. A new trial was granted by the
court at the March term, 1877, when the former defendant, Owens, testified the
child was dead when she gave it to Joyce, having been smothered during the ride.
Joyce was discharged, and the pair were married in the presence of the court.

An important probate case was in the courts in 1872-73, wherein the will of
Thomas G. Duncan, late of Battle Creek, deceased, was contested. The deceased
left an estate valued at something more than two hundred thousand dollars, one of
the legatees being Bishop Simpson, for an amount of forty thousand dollars. The
contest was finally compromised, the attorneys taking thirty-five thousand dollars
for fees and costs, and the estate is now being in process of administration.

THE CHANCELLOR'S COURT

was held in certain districts under the first constitution, and abolished in 1846
at which time the county court, which was abolished in 1833, was re-established,
and continued in its jurisdictional powers until 1852, when it was again abol-
ished, and has not as yet been re-established. Hon. George Woodruff* was the
county judge during the entire existence of the court, George Ketchum bein^
the first second judge, and John T. Ellis the second, who was elected in 1850.
Circuit courts have chancery jurisdiction with circuit court commissioners, with
judicial powers in vacation.

THE PROBATE COURT.

The first judge of probate of Calhoun county was Dr. James P. Greeves, who
was appointed by Governor Porter in 1834. His only official acts as appear of
record were the probating of the will of Asahel B. Thomas (father of the wife of
the present judge of probate), November 26, 1835, and an order for the sale of
personal property of the estate of the said deceased, February 6, 1836. He was
succeeded by Henry J. Phelps, the first judge elected by the people, in 1836,
and who held the position until 1845, when he was succeeded on January 1 of
that year by Horace H. Noyes, who held the position until 1857. Judge Noyes

20

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

was a worthy and exemplary citizen, and lived among the people of Calhoun until
April 20, 1877, when he was gathered to his fathers at a ripe old age. Joseph
C. Frink succeeded Judge Noyes in 1857, and retained his seat on the bench for
a single term of four years only, Martin D. Strong taking jurisdiction of mor-
tuary matters in January, 1861. He gave way in 1865 to Theron Hamilton,
and he in 1868 to Eden F. Henderson, who kept the ermine until his death, in
September, 1873, when the present worthy incumbent and courteous gentleman
was commissioned by the governor to fill the vacancy, Colonel Charles Dickey, a
resident of the county since 1836, and who has gone in and out before the people
in various positions of trust and honor received at their hands since his first
advent among them, and was elected by them in November, 1876, as his own
successor for a term of four years.

THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

The first board of supervisors — the fiscal managers of the county — was organized
August 6, 1834, at the school-house in the village of Marshall, there being pres-
ent supervisors Henry J. Phelps, of Marshall, John V. Henry, of Milton (Battle
Creek), Stephen S. Powers, of Homer, and Seeley Neale, of Marengo, townships.
Henry J. Phelps was appointed chairman, and by vote given the casting vote,
though it is not clear how he could avail himself of his parliamentary prerogative
unless he made a tie by voting as a supervisor, in order to unravel the complica-
tion as chairman. 'Marvin Preston was appointed clerk. Papers relative to
congressional appropriations for the improvement of territorial roads were received
from Lieutenant E. S. Sibley. The chairman was appointed the superintendent
of the territorial road for Calhoun County, and the clerk the surveyor therefor,
and the board adjourned till August 16 ; but no meeting was held until October 7,
when the board convened again with the same presence, and without transacting
any business adjourned till the 14th, when the body reconvened and voted to re-
duce the assessment of Marshall to $35,000, and that of Homer to $39,440, and
levied a tax of one-quarter of one per cent, on the valuation of the county, which
is not stated in the aggregate. Miscellaneous bills were audited amounting to
twenty-two dollars and eighty-eight cents, and wolf-bounties, at five dollars per
scalp, one hundred and five dollars (George Ketchum carrying off forty-five dol-
lars for the trophies). The supervisors allowed their own bills, Neale and Henry
getting seven dollars, and their brethren six dollars each, and gave the clerk three
dollars. The highway commissioners of Marengo and Marshall were authorized
to alter the territorial road through those townships, beginning the alteration at
Thomas Chisholm's and running west to the west part of Marshall township as
then constituted. On the 30th of October the board met again, and appointed
Supervisor Neale a delegate to the convention of supervisors to assemble at Ann
Arbor to consider the best plan of spending the congressional appropriation for
the territorial roads. They allowed two more wolf-bounties, and adjourned to
December 4, when they met and audited more bills for their own services, Neale,
twenty-five dollars, and ten dollars each for Phelps and Henry. The next meet-
ing was held March 7, 1835, when the alteration in the territorial road before
authorized was approved, twenty-six dollars and twenty-five cents allowed for
sundries, and five more wolf-scalps bought, but at largely reduced prices, only
one dollar and twenty-five cents each being paid. The county treasurer was al-
lowed three per cent, on all moneys received and disbursed for county account.

At the annual meeting in October, 1835, Phelps, of Marshall, Oshea Wilder, of
Homer, Benjamin Wright, of Marengo, and Silvanus Hunsicker, of Bellevue, Eaton
county (the same being then attached to Calhoun County), were present. The
board adjourned till the 7th, to meet at the house of C. O. Vanderberg, where
they met with the same presence, and, after directing the clerk to notify the super-
visors of Milton and Athens of the meeting, adjourned till the 19th, at which date
Homer C. Hurd, supervisor from Athens, and Sands McCamley, of Milton, ap-
peared on the board, with the others before-named, and proceeded to business.
They declined to make merchandise of wolf-scalps further, but gave Geo. Ketchum
and Anthony Doolittle two dollars each for a couple of the " varmints" they had
killed, not desiring to pass ex post facto ordinances. The board added $1061 to
the assessment of Marshall, $715 to that of Homer, and deducted $996 from that
of Milton, and $715 from that of Athens, the assessments of the several town-
ships standing thus: Marshall, $64,000; Homer, $63,163; Milton, $50,044;
Marengo, $50,985 ; Athens, $12,539 ; Bellevue (all of Eaton county), $6912,—
total, $251,643. They appropriated $50 for standard weights and measures, and
$15 for assessment blanks, to be prepared by supervisors Wilder and Phelps, and
audited bills amounting to $90.69, and levied $400 for county purposes.

At the annual meeting of 1836, Eckford was represented by Charles Olin, and
Sheridan by Chandler M. Church, seven members being present, all from Calhoun
County proper. The board met at the school-house, and organized by choosing
Mr. Phelps, of Marshall, chairman, and Stephen H. Preston, clerk, vice Marvin
Preston, resigned, and adjourned to Andrew Mann's house,— The National.

Lorenzo D. Collamer, of Homer, and the chairman of the committee on equalization,
reported a basis of assessment between the several towns, which was adopted,
which placed the amounts of the several townships as follows: Marshall,
$210,791; Marengo, $83,690; Homer, $146,250; Milton, $147,456; Athens^
$120,292; Eckford, $76,083; Sheridan, 54,498; Tekonsha, $42,729 ; Bellevue,
$30,595. Total assessment of county, $912,384. This was the first year the
tribute was paid for State sovereignty, and the taxes levied for 1836 were as
follows :

Township. County. State. Total.

Marshal] $137.42 $254.12 $526.97 $918.51

Marengo 118.11 100.89 209.22 428.22

Homer 168.04 176.31 365.62 709.97

™ ton 337.63 177.71 368.64 883.98

£ th< ! ns 162.25 145.02 300.73 608.00

Eckford 38.96 91.75 190.20 320.91

Sberidan 52.50 65.71 136.24 254.45

Tekonsha 52 .67 106.94 159.61

Bellevue 106.69 36.88 76.48 220.05

Total $1121.60 $1101.06 $2281.04 $4503.70

At the annual meeting of 1837, in October, three supervisors appeared from
Eaton county,— Hunsicker, of Bellevue, Orrin Dickinson, of Vermontville, and
William W. Crane, of Eaton. The new townships of Convis, Albion, and Bur-
lington were also represented. The assessments of these new towns were fixed as
follows: Convis, real estate, $52,756; personal property, $1896; Albion, real
estate, $93,745 ; and personalty, $8746 ; Burlington, real estate, $119,289 ; per-
sonalty, $2850 ; Vermontville, $198,886; Bellevue, $337,349 ; Eaton, $161,040.
(Total Eaton county, $697,275.) Total assessment of county, $2,732,511. The
total taxes of the county were placed at $14,231.81, including $3917.72 for
township, and $10,314.09 for State and county, purposes. The taxes of the new
townships were as follows :

Town. State and County. Total.

£ lbi ,? n $110.17 $440.12 $550.29

Burlington 361 .7 2 524.43 886.15

£ on , vlB 61.16 236.61 297.77

Bellevue.. 375.45 78a>37 1159.82

Vermontville 275.68 460.60 736.28

Eaton --- 155.99 371.95 527.94

Total m Eaton county, $2424.04.

At the annual meeting of the board, in October,* 1838, Dudley N. Bushnell,
of Le Roy, Levi Morton, of Cady (Emmett), Solomon Platner, of Fredonia, and
Truman Bathbun, of Clarendon, took their seats, Stephen Graham, of Newton,
and Warren Joy, of Pennfield, being elected thereto, but not appearing. The
total assessment of the county was fixed at $1,798,988 on real estate, and $299,700
on personal property. Total, $2,099,688. The new townships were assessed as
follows :

Real Estate. Personal Property. Total.

£? R °y $53,442 $3,908 $57,350

Clarendon 76 ,030 4,791 80,821

Fredonia 83,852 10,043 93,895

£. ad ^ 98,015 9,984 107,999

^ ewt ° n " 58,234 3,813 62,047

Pennneld 66,649 5,156 72,805

The towns of Eaton county were no longer tributary to Calhoun, but had
their own home rule. The taxes for 1838 were : State, $3052 ; county, $4348 ;
township, $7402.04 ; total, $14,802.04. The levy on the new townships was as
follows : for township purposes, Le Koy, $202.25 ; Fredonia, $330.97 ; Newton,
$218.71 ; Cady, $384.92 ; Pennfield, $260.87 ; Clarendon, $284.89.

THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

succeeded the board of supervisors in 1839, and remained in charge of the strong-
box of the county until 1842, when they quietly bowed themselves off the stage,
and the curtain fell upon their acts, to rise again as the old dramatis personse, the
old supervisors, came forward to the helm of affairs. During the brief authority of
the commissioners, of whom there were but three in any single year, the townships
of Clarence, Bedford, and Lee were autonomized and given separate government •
but we have failed to find the records of the acts of the commissioners, and therefore
cannot give the first assessment and taxes of those townships. The commissioners
were elected promiscuously throughout the county at large, and the first board
was composed of Sidney Sweet, H. C. Goodrich, and Robert Church. Thomas
W. Wells was chosen in 1840, at the fall election, and Arza Lewis in 1841, which
was the last election of those officers.

The assessment and taxes for the year 1876 are as follows, by townships :

Real Estate. Per. Prop. Total

^ ion $564,141 $95,200 $659,341

^ nS ; 196 > 522 49 > 295 245,817

Sedford 258,820 34,135 292 955 i

Burlington 216,380 37,780 254 160 '

Battle Creek township 352,105 43,400 395 505

Battle Creek city 734,492 343,600 1 078*092

Clarendon 214,411 36,185 250,*596

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

21

Real Estate. Per. Prop. Total.

Clarence $106,064 $17,350 $123,414

Convis 224,674 28,140 252,814

Eckford 348,667 40,850 389,517

Emmett 368,362 45,730 414,092

Fredonia 253,002 44,050 297,052

Homer..... 338,911 67,340 406,251

Le Roy 214,941 39,480 254,421

Lee 103,837 14,300 118,137

Marengo 385,182 116,930 502,112

Marshall township 358,885 52,450 411,335

Marshall city 723,448 233,500 956,948

Newton 212,379 34,898 247,277

Pennfield 263,546 27,170 290,716

Sheridan 294,505 47,910 342,415

Tekonsha 229,765 41,230 270,995

Totals $6,963,039 $1,490,923 $8,453,962

The State board of equalization fixed the assessment of Calhoun County, for
State taxation in 1876, at the sum of $24,000,000, which amount stands un-
changed for five years, and represents the proportion of Calhoun's financial liability
to the State government, and on which the State levies for revenue are laid.

In 1871 the amount was fixed at $21,000,000. The delegates from the board
of supervisors to the State board of equalization in 1876 were Victory P. Collier
and W. Bidwell.

The taxes levied for the year 1876 were as follows :

Township. County. State. Total.

Albion. $9,762.35 $3,899.50 $2,196.71 $15,858.56

Athens 3,704.70 1,453.81 819.98 5,978.49

Bedford 3,657.46 1,732.59 976.03 6,366.08

Burlington 3,566.51 1,503.15 846.78 5,916.44

Battle Creek township 2,519.77 2,339.10 1,317.70 6,176.57

Battle Creek city ....9,160.36 6,376.10 3,592.85 59,129.31

Clarendon 2,796.35 1,482.07 834.90 5,113.32

Clarence 2,663.76 729.88 411.18 3,804.82

Convis 1,945.99 1,495.19 842.29 4,283.47

Eckford 2,128.74 2,303.64 1,297.75 5,730.18

Emmett 3,012.30 2,449.03 1,379.62 6,840.95

Fredonia 2,450.18 1,756.83 989.68 5,196.69

Homer 4,520.30 2,402.66 1,353.49 8,276.45

LeRoy 2,184.74 1,504.69 847.65 4,537.08

Lee 2,340.32 698.67 393.60 3,432.59

Marengo 3,336.49 2,969.60 1,672.87 7,978.96

Marshall township 2,704.43 2,432.72 1,370.43 6,507.58

Marshall city 31,938.95 5,659.52 3,188.24 40,786.71

Newton 2,176.71 1,462.44 823.85 4,463.00

Pennfield 2,863.25 1,719.35 968.57 5,551.17

Sheridan 5,251.88 2,025.12 1,140.81 8,417.81

Tekonsha 4,678.83 1,602.72 902.87 7,184.42

Totals $149,364.37 $49,998.54 $28,165.85 $227,528.76

Earl Smith, county treasurer, reported to the board of supervisors at the annual
meeting of 1876, on receipts and disbursements, from which it appears that during
the year ending October 16, 1876, he received in his official capacity a total amount
of $108,991.64, and disbursed $102,529.51. He received liquor taxes as follows :
Marshall city, $2927.92; Battle Creek city, $2225; Albion village, $676.50;
Homer village, $450 ; Burlington village, $300 ; Athens township, $80 ; Tekon-
sha township, $40 ; total liquor tax, $6699.42. His disbursements covered $30,-
681.23 for general county purposes ; $16,400 for court-house account; $23,222.43
poor fund account ; library account to the several townships and primary school
fund, $6009.83 ; State taxes, $18,973.88. There were 435,240 acres of land
assessed in 1876, at an average valuation of $11.80 per acre. The per capita of
personal property on the population of 1874 was $41.77. The assessed valuation
is hardly one-quarter of the real value.

COUNTY BUILDINGS.

At the first session of the State legislature, convened in the winter of 1836,
an act was passed authorizing the board of supervisors to borrow twelve thousand
dollars with which to erect county buildings, the courts having been held at the
school-house in Marshall or at the hotels therein. The board of supervisors, at
their annual meeting in October, 1836, voted it was expedient to erect county
buildings, and instructed their clerk to ascertain what terms could be had for a
loan of the authorized amount. In January, 1837, the board met again, and the
clerk reported no loan could be had, as the county was restricted by the act of the
legislature, whereupon the supervisors petitioned the assembly to extend their
powers and allow them to negotiate the loan upon such terms and rate of interest
as the board should deem advisable, and appointed supervisors Wright, Phelps,
and Alcott to act with the clerk, and bade him try again. In March the super-
visors applied to the superintendent of public instruction for the loan, and S. S. Alcott
was appointed superintendent of the construction of the county buildings, and
given full power to contract for materials and labor, and adopted a plan, in out-
line, for the building presented by supervisor Wright. The loan, however, was
not effected until July, when it was obtained of the superintendent of public
instruction, and Henry J. Phelps, Moses Hall, and Charles Olin appointed a build-
ing committee. Another draft of the proposed building was adopted, and the bar
and bench invited to appear before the board and make suggestions of any altera-

tions deemed necessary therein. The loan was effected at seven per cent., Eaton
county being exempted from the payment of interest on the same. The building
was constructed of brick, on the Marshall sandstone foundations, and was a pre-
tentious structure, but was one of the examples where men " pay too much for
the whistle," the cost before its entire completion being between twenty-five thou-
sand and thirty thousand dollars. It was ready for occupancy in 1838, and the
board of supervisors charged the treasurer and register of deeds fifty dollars per
annum rent for their offices, the first year at least. The foundation walls proved
insufficient to support the walls properly, and it became unsightly if not actually
unsafe. The county jail was for many years maintained in the basement of the
building.

NEW COURT-HOUSE.

On October 24, 1872, the board of supervisors adopted a resolution submitting
to the decision of the people the question of a new court-house, to cost fifty thou-
sand dollars, which question was decided in the affirmative at the April town-
meetings in 1873, there being twenty-eight hundred and ninety -nine yeas and
twenty-four hundred and eighteen nays on the same. Messrs. Robert Huston,
A. E. Preston, and S. J. Burpee were appointed a committee on plans and
specifications May 2, and July 1 the plans presented by E. E. Myers, of Detroit,
were adopted, and supervisors Huston, Preston, Loomis, Hutchinson, William
Cook, and James Graves appointed a building committee. The building was
completed in 1875, and cost, ready for occupancy, with furnaces, furniture, carpet-
ing, site, superintendence, and labors of building committee, fifty-four thousand
six hundred and eighty-eight dollars and twenty-five cents, and is an ornament to
the city of Marshall and a credit to the county at large. The outside basement
walls are most strongly and admirably built of boulder stone, from the concrete
bottom to the grade-line ; above the grade-line and between the base-course and
water-table Marshall sandstone ; and all other cut stone-work is of Ohio sandstone.
The outside face walls are all pressed brick. The building is rectangular in form,
with projections on the north front and rear, and has an area of about forty-five
hundred square feet. The corners, antes, window-caps, and sills are cut stone, and
the whole surmounted by a neat cupola. The offices of the county clerk, register
of deeds, and probate judge are light, roomy, and airy, and those of the sheriff
and treasurer are smaller, but equally eligible and convenient. The building is
finished in ash, butternut, and black walnut, and has a very neat and tasteful
appearance. The court-room occupies the upper floor, with the necessary and
ample rooms for consultation purposes, and is fitted up in good taste, and with an
eye to comfort, but its acoustic properties are not of the best. The building is
heated with hot-air furnaces. Fire-proof vaults are provided for the county clerk,
register, treasurer, and probate judge, in their respective offices, but their size is
hardly adequate for the future wants of the county, and that, too, at no distant
day. A view of the court-house forms the frontispiece of our work.

THE COUNTY JAIL

is maintained in a brick building, which stands on the court-house square, and
which the county purchased in or about 1850, and converted to such purposes.
The sheriff resides in the same building. The old jail was built of squared timber,
built up inside of one of the basement-rooms of the first court-house. A grand
jail delivery took place therefrom when the present judge of probate, Colonel
Dickey, was sheriff, the prisoners, nine in number, effecting their escape by burn-
ing through the logs with a hot iron. They managed to heat the iron at a stove
that stood in the corridor, and burned off the lock-fastenings, and also burned out
the staples in an oak log to which one of their number was confined.

THE COUNTY ALMSHOUSE.

In the year 1849 (December 20) the board of supervisors bought of Thomas
Chisholm the northwest one-quarter, section 9, township of Marengo, for two
thousand dollars, for a county poor-farm, and abolished the distinction between
county and township poor and made them all a county charge. The original
building was erected in the year 1850-51, to which additions have been made
from time to time until at present the building consists of a central part of
one hundred and ten feet front and thirty feet deep, two stories ; a wing to the
north, the insane ward, twenty-four by forty feet basement and one story ; and a
similar wing to the north, twenty by thirty feet, two stories, which contains the
* lodging-rooms and the sitting-rooms of the inmates. The lower story of the central
building has the office of the keeper and the general dining-room, the upper floor
being occupied by the keeper and family. The buildings are of wood, and are
heated by hot-air furnaces located in the basement of the insane wards. The
buildings are thoroughly ventilated through the walls of the same, and the barns
and out-buildings are capacious and convenient. The real estate is valued at
eighteen thousand dollars.

The report of the county superintendents of the poor for the year ending Sep-

22

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

tember 30, 1876, shows receipts as follows : General appropriation for poor pur-
poses made by supervisors, $15,000 ; products of farm sold, $101.32 ; other receipts,
$76.65 ; total, $15,177.97. They disbursed for all purposes connected with the
charge of the poor in the county, $17,014.09 ; and for the insane poor at the
State institution, $3338.74 ; for which an appropriation was made of $3500, and
an amount of $484.59 was received from friends of insane persons cared for;
making a total of expenditure for sweet charity's sake of $20,352.83, in the cen-
tennial year of the republic, by the county of Calhoun, one of the soulless corpo-
rations of the country. Ten children were taken from the almshouse to the State
school at Coldwater, twenty-five in all having been so disposed of since the estab-
lishment of the school. For this expenditure two thousand six hundred and five
weeks of board were furnished for the poor at the county house, and two hundred
and fifty weeks for the keeper of the house and his family and hired help ; besides
a large amount of relief afforded outside of the farm in the towns. There were
fifty poor persons in the house at the close of the fiscal year, and one hun-
dred and. four had been admitted during the year. Five deaths occurred during
the year. The products of the farm for the year were four hundred and seventy-
four bushels wheat, two hundred bushels oats, one thousand four hundred bushels
corn (in the ear), three hundred and thirty-five bushels potatoes, fifteen bushels
apples, fifty-five bushels garden vegetables, six hundred heads cabbage, twenty-four
tons hay, corn fodder from eighteen acres, two tons of pork, and fifteen and one-
half acres wheat on the ground. The farm was well stocked with live-stock and
farming implements, and improvements, permanent and valuable, had been made
during the year.

The county superintendents of the poor are elected by the board of supervisors,
and hold their office for a term of three years. Owing to the non-transference of
the old records from the preceding board of superintendents to the present incum-
bents, we are unable to give a complete list of the superintendents and keepers of
the house since thetestablishment of the farm, but, as far as we have been able to
ascertain, the superintendents have been as follows : William Farley, Moses Hall,
and Thomas Holmes were the incumbents when the farm was bought and the
first house built; Seth Lewis, J. M. Parsons, Solon E. Robinson, 1859-67;
Elias Hewitt, whose term expired 1865 ; George E. Johnson, 1865-68 ; Rev.
J. P. Averill, 1857-60; E. H. Johnson, 1860-63; Benjamin Clark, 1863-67;
E. H. Johnson, 1866-77 ; Judge T. W. Hall, 1867-77 ; A. O. Hyde, 1868-77.
The keepers .have been as follows : S. H. Bunker, whose connection expired 1862 ;
Henry Drake, 1862-66 ; W. D. Chappell, 1866-71 ; H. L. White, 1871-77.

We present to our readers in connection herewith a view of the almshouse,
surrounded with the portraits of the present superintendents and keeper.

CHAPTER VIII.

OFFICIAL ROSTER : FIRST JUSTICES, COUNTY OFFICERS, NATIONAL AND
STATE OFFICIALS IN CALHOUN — POLITICS — UNDERGROUND RAILROAD —
ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING — PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS — A CURIOUS BALLOT
POPULATION.

The first public officials who exercised authority over the people of Calhoun
County were appointed by Governor Porter, Michigan yet being under territorial
tutelage. They were as follows : Justices of the Peace, Isaac E. Crary and
Sidney Ketchum in 1832 ; Calvin Smith and John Allen, 1832 ; Seeley Neale,
Benjamin T. Dwinell, and Pollidore Hudson, 1833. Register of Probate and of
Deeds, Randall Hobart, 1833-35. Judge of Probate, James P. Greeves, 1834-36.
Associate Judges of Circuit Court, Eleazar McCamley and John Y. Henry, 1833-
36. Sheriff, H. C. Goodrich, 1833-36. Clerk of the Courts, Charles D. Smith,
1833-36. In 1833, when the county was organized, a treasurer and coroner
were elected; but the election records prior to 1840 are missing, and the names
cannot definitely be ascertained of all of the officials between 1833-40.

In 1835, a register of deeds was elected ; the office of register of probate, who
was, theretofore, register of deeds ex officio, being abolished, and Randall Hobart *
was elected. Since the election of 1835, the first under the State constitution,
the county officers have been as follows : Associate Judges, Tolman W. Hall
and Charles Olm, 1837-40 ; Henry Hewitt and Tolman W. Hall, 1841-42 ; Sid-
ney Ketchum and Francis W. Shearman, 1843-44 ; George Ketchum and Horace
Bidwell, 1845-46.

The probate and county judges are named in connection with those courts.

Delegates to Constitutional Conventions. — Isaac E. Crary, 1835 and 1850; Milo

Soule, William Y. Morrison, John D. Pierce, and Nathan Pierce, 1850 ; Charles
D. Holmes, Eden T. Henderson, and George Willard, 1867-68.

Senators. — J. Wright Gordon, 1839, afterwards lieutenant-governor and acting
governor; Sands McCamley, 1839 and 1840 ; Henry Hewitt, 1842, died in De-
troit; Edward Bradley, 1843 ; Abner Pratt, 1844-45 ; Loren Maynard, 1846-47 ;
Charles Dickey, 1850-54; Erastus Hussey and W. H. Brockway, 1855-56;
Nathan Pierce, 1852-53, 1857-58 ; Charles T. Gorham, 1859-60 ; George H.
French, 1861-64; Yictory P. Collier, 1865-68; John C. Fitzgerald, 1869-70;
Philip H. Emerson, 1871-74; William Cook, 1875-78; William F. Hewitt,
1874.

Representatives. — Hon. Ezra Convis, 1836-37, was speaker of the house at the
session of 1836, and died at Detroit, while the legislature was in session, in February,
1837 ; Andrew Dorsey, 1838 ; and George C. Gibbs and Justus Goodwin, 1839 ;
Hervey Cook and Jonathan Hart, 1840 ; Charles Olin and Michael Spencer, 1841 .
Isaac E. Crary, 1842 ; Justus Goodwin, 1842-43 ; Sands McCamley, 1843 j
Moses Hall and James Sheldon, 1844 ; Andrew L. Hays and Eli Stillson, 1845 ;
Isaac E. Crary, speaker, and John Barber, 1846 ; J. D. Pierce, Justus Goodwin,
and Henry W. Taylor, 1847 ; J. D. Peirce, Hiram Smith, and Abner E. Campbell,
1848 ; Fenner Fergerson, Orlando Moffat, and Norton P. Hobart, 1849 ; Erastus
Hussey, Hovey K. Clarke, and Nathan Pierce, 1850 ; Darius Clarke, Nathan
Peirce, and John L. Balcombe, 1851-52 ; John R. Palmer, Bradley P. Hudson,
and James Winters, 1853-54 ; Daniel Dunakin, Homer C. Hurd, and Tolman W.
Hall, 1855-56 ; James Monroe, Asa B. Cook, and Chester Buckley, 1857-58 ;
James Monroe, Charles Dickey, and W. W. Woolnough, 1859-60 ; William Cook,
Homer C. Hurd, and Eden T. Henderson, 1861-62 ; William Cook, Abner Pratt,
Chester Buckley, and Isaac C. Abbott, 1863-64 ; W. H. Brockway, George R.
McCay, Joseph P. Beach, and Rodolphus Sanderson, 1865-66 ; Martin Haven,
Harvey Randall, and George Willard, 1867-68 ; Benjamin Clark, Loomis Hutchin-
son, and John Wagner, 1869-70 ; William H. Brockway, Preston Mitchell, and
George I. Brown, 1871-72 ; Solon E. Robinson, Preston Mitchell, and Rodolphus
Sanderson, 1873-74; Philo H. Budlong, John Houston, and Almon E. Preston,
1875-76 ; John W. Fletcher, Richard Keeler, and James Walkinshaw, 1877-78.
Sheriffs.— H. C. Goodrich, 1837-38 ; Loren Maynard, 1839-42 ; Charles A.
Church, 1843-44; Charles Dickey, 1845-48 ; Joseph Hollon, 1849-50 ; James
Monroe, 1851-52; Artemas Doane, 1853-54; Harvey M. Dixon, 1855-58;
Marcus H. Crane, 1859-62 ; John Houston, Jr., 1863-66 ; William C. Rich-
field, 1867-68, and 1871-72 ; William L. Buck, 1869-70 ; David R. Smiley,
1873-76 ; John C. Barber, 1877-79.

County Clerks. — Marvin Preston, 1837-38 ; John A. Yan Home, 1839-44 ;
Edwin A. Hayden, 1845-46 ; John Meacham, 1847-50 ; Erastus Hussey, 1851-
54; Samuel S. Lacey, 1855-60; Levi Mosher, 1861-64; William Howard,
1865-68; S. P. Brockway, 1869-72 ; John C. Stetson, 1873-76 ; Charles C.
McDermid, 1877-78.

Registers of JQeeds. — Randall Hobart, 1836-38 ; Ira Tillotson, 1839-46 ;
Joseph C. Frink, 1847-48, and 1851-52 ; Robert B. Porter, 1849-50 ; Stephen
Gilbert, 1853-54; George Ingersoll, 1855-56; F. S. Clark, 1857-60; John T.
Ellis, 1861-64 ; Henry R. Cook, 1865-68 ; William F. Neale, 1869-72 ; Charles
D. Holmes, 1873-76; Stephen F. Snyder, 1877-78.

Treasurers.— Marvin Preston, 1833-35; Sidney S. Alcott, 1836-42; Milo
Soule, 1843-48; Preston Mitchell, 1849-52, and 1855-56; J. B. Cook, 1853-
54 ; Silas W. Dodge, 1857-62 ; Eden T. Henderson, 1863-66 ; Henry M.
Hempstead, 1867-72 ; Earl Smith, 1873-78.

County Surveyors.— Edwin A. Hayden, 1841-42 ; Cyrus Hewitt, 1843-44,
1847-48, 1851-52, 1855-58 ; Cyrus Robertson, 1845-46, 1849-50, 1853-54 ;
Glode D. Lewis, 1859-60 ; Loren Wing, 1861-62 ; John Meacham, 1863-64 ;
David H. Miller, 1865-66 ; William A. Sweet, 1867-72 ; David A. Tichenor,
1873-76 ; Benjamin F. Wells, 1877-78.

Coroners. — Granville Stow and James Winters, 1841-42 ; Wright I. Esmond
and Stow, 1843-44 ; Esmond and H. B. Tud, 1845-46 ; James D. Potts and
Charles Harkins, 1847-48 ; Nathan Davis and Aaron Ismond, 1849-50 ; John
Houston and Silas Sheffield, 1851-52 ; John Barbour and Nathan Chidester,
1853-54; David H. Miller and Benjamin Chamberlain, 1855-56; Tracy H.
Swarthout and Reuben B. Waldo, 1857-58; John F. Hinman and Isaac Beers,
1859-60 ; Alanson Graham and George McAllister, 1861-62 ; Isaac Beers and
Charles M. Bardwell, 1863-64 ; Thomas Knight and Ira Nash, 1865-66 ; Moses
B. Russell and Willoughby O'Donoghue, 1867-68 ; John S. Evans and Alanson
Graham, 1869-70; Sylvester S. Granger and Zeno Gould, 1871-72; Peter
Kocher and Willoughby O'Donoghue, 1873-74; W. O'Donoghue and Tracy C.
Southworth, 1875-76 ; Morgan J. Alexander and Tolman W. Hall, 1877-78.

Prosecuting Attorneys. — From the organization of the county to 1851 the pros-
ecuting attorneys were appointed by the governor or the judges of the court, and
were as follows: Cephas A. Smith, 1833-35; S. H. Preston, 1836-38; D. L.

Oh

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

23

Johns, 1840-41 ; Edward Bradley, 1842 ; George C. Gibbs, 1838-39, and 1843-
45 ; William C. Bowley, 1846-48 ; Abner Pratt, 1849-50. In 1850 the prose-
cuting attorneys were first elected, and since that time the office has been filled as
follows : Hovey K. Clarke, 1851-52 ; Charles S. May, 1853-54 ; W. H. Brown,
1855-58; Levant C. Rhines, 1859-62; John C. Fitzgerald, 1863-66; Joseph
G. Lodge, 1867-70 ; James A. Miner, 1871-74 ; Frank W. Clapp, 1875-78.

Circuit Court Commissioners. — These officials were provided for by the legis-
lature after the adoption of the constitution of 1850, to take the place of the
masters in chancery, which that instrument abolished. They have chancery
powers of the judges of the circuit courts, in vacation. The first commissioner
was elected in 1852, and was George C. Gibbs, who held the position one term
of two years. George Woodruff succeeded him from 1855 to 1860, six years.
Sidney Thomas succeeded Judge Woodruff for a single term, ending December
31, 1862, and then two commissioners were elected, Judge Woodruff coming in
again; and James B. Greenough and Judge Woodruff held the position four
years, but Mr. Greenough was succeeded by Joseph G. Lodge for 1865-66.
Since then the commissioners have been as follows : James A. Miner and Philip
H. Emerson, 1867-68 ; Miner and Rienzi Loud, 1869-70 ; Moses D. Russell
and William D. Adams, 1871-76; and Mr. Adams and Herbert E. Winsor,
1877-78.

County Superintendent of Schools. — This office was created in 1869 and con-
tinued to exist until 1874, when it was abolished, and the superintendency of
education remanded to the townships. Bela Fancher filled the position in 1870
to 1873 inclusive, and Bertrand F. Welch the balance of the time.

Drain Commissioner. — This office was created also in 1869, for drainage pur-
poses of the counties, but was abolished in 1872-73, and the drainage left with
the several townships. George Johnson filled the position for 1870-71, and
William A. Sweet for 1872-73.

Calhoun has also been represented in the councils of the nation and in the
chief offices of the State, and her citizens have maintained the dignity and honor
of the republic in foreign lands, before crowned heads of Europe and quasi-presi-
dents of the South American republics.

She has been represented in the lower house of the Congress of the United
States as follows : Hon. Isaac E. Crary, as delegate from the Territory, in 1835,
and its sole representative from 1836 to 1841 inclusive; Edward Bradley was
elected in November, 1846, to represent the district when there were but two
members from the State, but he died before he took his seat and while on his way
to do so, his death occurring in New York city. Hon. George Willard, of Battle
Creek, was elected from the third congressional district, composed of Jackson,
Calhoun, Branch, Barry, and Eaton counties, in 1872, and re-elected in 1874.
In 1839, J. Wright Gordon, a prominent member of the Calhoun bar, was elected
lieutenant-governor, and upon Governor Woodbridge's election to the United
States Senate, succeeded to the gubernatorial chair, which he occupied until 1842.
Victory P. Collier was elected state treasurer in 1870, and held the position four
years. Rev. John D. Pierce was appointed by Governor Mason the first State
superintendent of public instruction in the State in 1836, which position he held
for several years. He was also the first official of that class in the United States.
J. Wright Gordon was consul of the United States at Pernambuco, for a time,
where he died, and Judge Pratt served the nation similarly at Honolulu. Hon.
Charles T. Gorham was minister at the Hague for several years, and afterwards
assistant secretary of the interior at Washington, and acting secretary for a time,
under Presidents Grant and Hayes. Preston Mitchell was elected one of the
presidential electors of Michigan in 1876. Hovey K. Clarke, the first prosecuting
attorney elected in the county, has been for several years register of bankruptcy
at Detroit. Colonel Charles Dickey, now judge of probate, was appointed United
States marshal for the State of Michigan in 1861, by President Lincoln, and
held the position until the fall of 1866. Ira Mayhew was collector of internal
revenue for the third congressional district, from the creation of the office for
some three or more years. Preston Mitchell was United States deputy assessor
for Calhoun County for six years. Dr. O. C. Comstock was appointed State
superintendent of public instruction in 1843, by Governor John S. Barry, and
Thomas W. Wells received his second appointment as commissioner of internal
improvements of the State, the same year. Hon. Isaac E. Crary and Henry C.
Bunce were recorders, and Hon. Digby V. Bell, commissioner of the land-office,
previous to 1846, Judge Bell being also auditor-general under Governor Felch.
Hon. S. S. Lacey was land commissioner of the State four years, and Ira Mayhew
superintendent of public instruction for two years or more. Hon. W. F. Shearman
was superintendent of public instruction several years.

THE POLITICAL SENTIMENTS

of the people of Calhoun County are best shown by the votes they gave the presi-
dential candidates from first to last, which are exhibited below. The first general

election they participated in was that of 1840, when the feeling engendered between
the partisans of the rival parties, Whigs and Democrats, was, to use an expression
more forcible than elegant, " red hot." The hard-cider Whigs built their log
cabins and sang and hurrahed for " Tippecanoe and Tyler too," and the Democrats
worked early and late for Van Buren, the " young hickory," as they were proud
to call him. The Patriot and the Statesman, rival publications at the county-seat,
were vigorous in their editorials, and were not at all choice in the language they
used towards one another. But the campaign in the county ended in favor of the
Democratic candidate, by a majority of sixteen votes only. In 1844, the abolition
vote first showed its strength when two hundred and twenty-six votes were polled
for Birney, just enough being given in the Union to defeat the Whig's idol, Harry
Clay, a thing the old lovers of that party never forgave. The " underground
railroad" had a most efficiently worked line through the county, with depots in
Leroy and Battle Creek, Erastus Hussey being one of its best and safest con-
ductors. Many a dark-skinned fugitive passed over the line, beneath a load of;
wheat, or boxed up as freight, on his way to freedom. This corporation, chartered
by the " higher law," paid no dividends in cash to stockholders or employees ; but in
the sense of satisfaction received from the successful discharge of their self-imposed
duties, the returns from the investment were most flattering. There were no syn-
dicates, credits mobilier, or rings to " float" their stock, no mortgage bonds, first
or second or preferred, and it was not worth quoting in Wall street or the bourse,
but nevertheless it did,a flourishing business from 1840, or thereabouts, until the
slaves of the south, in whose behalf it had been initiated and managed, oftentimes
with imminent danger of conflict with the power of the government, heard the fire
of the first hostile cannon on Sumter, which struck the knell of African slavery
in the republic of the United States.

AN ATTEMPT AT KIDNAPPING.

A family of former slaves named Crosswhite, who had escaped from Kentucky
and had been residents of Marshall for some years, in 1847 created an intense
excitement, not only in Marshall and Calhoun County, but throughout the State
and Union, and was one of the leading exciting causes for the passage of the infa-
mous fugitive slave law of 1850. An outline of the facts, as recorded in the
Marshall Statesman at the time, is as follows : On the morning of January 28,
1847, before daylight, four Kentuckians appeared in Marshall unannounced, and,
with Harvey M. Dixon, deputy sheriff of Calhoun County, went to the house of
Adam Crosswhite, which they found closed, and demanded admission, which being
refused, the door was broken in. In the mean time the town had been alarmed by
Patterson, a colored man, who, mounted on a horse and with sword and bell, had
traversed the village warning the people of the attempted outrage. The excite-
ment spread like a prairie fire, and in a few moments nearly all the male citizens
were assembled, without regard to political sympathy, at the dwelling of the
Crosswhites, where the Kentuckians were endeavoring to accomplish the arrest of
the whole family, some of whom were born in Marshall. The news had gone out
that the kidnappers were heavily armed, and a more determined set of men proba-
bly never assembled in the defense of justice and right than those who told the
slave-owners in plain and unmistakable language that they never could take the
Crosswhites back to slavery. After several hours of fruitless endeavor to arrest
the fugitives, during which the excitement boiled and raged at fever heat, the
Kentuckians were arrested for breaking in the door of a citizen of Marshall, and
one Francis Troutman, who drew his pistol on a colored man, was also arrested
for an assault with a deadly weapon and taken before Esquire Randall Hobart,
who mulcted the quartette in the sum of one hundred dollars damages, and held
Troutman to answer before the circuit court under one hundred dollars bonds for
his assault. The colored men, of ^hom there were then living in Marshall some
forty or more, were all spoiling for a fight in defense of their neighbor and his
family, and were armed with clubs and guns, but were restrained by the cooler
but no less determined whites, among whom Hon. Charles T. Gorham, Dr. O. C.
Comstock, Asa B. Cook, Jarvis Hurd, and J. M. Easterly were prominent and
leading spirits. The family were spirited away the night following the attempted
kidnapping by George Ingersoll and William W. Smith, who took them to Jack-
son in a wagon, from whence they went to Canada by rail, where they remained
for several years, until after the emancipation proclamation was issued, when Adam
Crosswhite returned with some of his family to Marshall, where he still resides.
The discomfited Troutman, or rather Giltner, for whom he alleged he was acting as
agent in the recapture of the fugitives, — the same being former slaves of Giltner,

brought suit in the United States court at Detroit against Mr. Gorham, Dr.

Comstock, Mr. Hurd, Mr. Cook, and several others for alleged interference with
the execution of the laws of the United States, laying heavy damages for the
value of the lost chattels. Troutman and his companions and Dixon were the
principal witnesses for the prosecution, and the evidence was published throughout

24

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

the north, the Statesman copying it entire. Messrs. Pratt and Crary were attor-
neys for the prosecution, and Emmons*, Romeyne, and Joy defended.

Troutman testified that when they were about to arrest the Crosswhites, the
colored people (niggers he called them) assembled and blustered a good deal, but
finally Dr. Comstock came and asked him what he was going to do with the
family, and Troutman replied he was going to take them back to Kentucky. Com-
stock then said, " You see the excitement, and you cannot take them back by legal,
moral, or physical force, and you may as well know it first as last ; and the sooner
you leave the better for you." Then Charles T. Gorham took up the words, and
called the attention of the crowd, and offered a resolution : " Resolved, that these
Kentucky gentlemen can't take these slaves back by legal, moral, or physical
force ;" and it was carried by acclamation. When he asked Gorham why he came
there, the latter replied, " I came by the authority of public sentiment, which is above
the law." Troutman then demanded the names of all responsible persons present
who were interfering with the execution of the laws, and asked Gorham for his
name, which he gave ; and not hearing it distinctly (or being unable to spell it),
asked for it a second time, when Gorham replied, " Charles T. Gorham ; put it
down in capital letters, and take it back to Kentucky, to the land of slavery, as a
warning to others and a lesson to you." Comstock gave his name as Oliver
Cromwell Comstock, Jr., adding, " Don't forget to put the junior on ; I don't
want my father to answer for my sins." Easterly, Hurd, and Cook gave their
names. After Mr. Gorham offered his resolution, Troutman, to test the temper of
the " mob," as he termed it, though against the protests of Comstock and Gorham,
who pointed out the best citizens of Marshall in the gathering, offered a resolution,
that he as a peaceable citizen of Kentucky be allowed to take the slaves before
Esquire Shearman (who issued the warrant for their arrest) and prove his property
and take them back to Kentucky, but not a solitary voice answered in the affirma-
tive. Soon after, Mr. Hurd offered a resolution, " that these Kentucky gentlemen
be given two hours in which to leave town, or be arrested for kidnapping." Camp
moved an amendment to strike out Hurd's alternative, and add " or be tarred and
feathered and rode on a rail," and added, u I will give ten dollars to hold one end
of the rail." The amendment was frowned down, but Hurd's resolution was
passed nem, con. Troutman tried to argue the case, claiming he had the right
under the constitution and laws of Congress to take his property wherever he
found it and return it to Kentucky. Gorham replied, " We do not care for the
laws of Congress ; the dear people are the law, and we are the dear people, and
you can't have these people." Dixon testified that he went among the colored
people as a detective in the guise of a census-gatherer for the school district, to
find out all about the Crosswhites and the number and whereabouts of their chil-
dren, and that he did so find out their history, and by that information, so ob-
tained, led the Kentuckians to the house at a time when the family could all be
taken together. He did not arrest them, because in the face of the excited crowd
he could not do so safely. That he commanded the peace among the crowd, for
which Gorham called him a contemptible puppy, and Hurd laughed at him. He
served the warrants on the Kentuckians, when they adjourned for the day. Dr.
Comstock wanted to see the warrant issued for the arrest of the Crosswhites, and
advised Dixon to see counsel before he went too far. Dixon and Gorham had
several verbal set-to's about the business. Dixon testified he received five dollars
from the chivalry for all the business he did for them. John H. Wells proposed
that the crowd should kidnap the Southerners by reason of their color being the
same hue as the Crosswhites, and innocently (?) asked them if they were not
relatives of the slaves. But these proceedings were not favored by the mass of
the people, who were not willing to see violence done, but were determined that the
Crosswhites should never be returned to slavery, whatever had to be done to pre-
vent it. Gorham and Comstock were leading Democrats, and told the South-
erners the crowd was not an abolition mob, but the best citizens of the place, and
it was useless for them to undertake the recapture, as it would never be allowed in
the present temper of the people. The next day the excitement was still intense,
Dr. Comstock remarking to a stranger that the people were excited, and he him-
self was excited, but he thought they were right in protecting their citizens.

Gorham claimed the negroes as citizens, — he had and would protect them. He
and D. Darwin Hughes had a tilt over the matter, in which Hughes characterized
the affair as a "d — d Presbyterian operation," and charged Gorham as being en-
gaged in a disreputable business for a church member.

The above was in the testimony of the prosecution. The different defendants
were dropped from time to time, until only Gorham, Hurd, and Comstock were
left to bear the brunt of the final judgment, which was rendered on the second
trial, — the jury disagreeing at the first one, — and which amounted to nineteen
hundred dollars damages and costs, some eleven hundred dollars more. The
attorney, Pratt, took the damages for his fee, and Troutman had his expe-

** Judge Emmons, of the United States court, lately deceased.

rience for his pains. The case was most ably defended, and, although the de-
fendants were not allowed to testify in their own behalf, yet they accounted for
every person on the ground, and also showed that the evidence of Troutman was
manufactured, and words put into the defendants' mouths which they never
uttered, to make a case for political effect. While the trial was going on " Dave"
Stuart took Gorham one side, and said to him he was sorry to see him — Gorham
— connected with the case, for they wished a judgment just at that particular
juncture to let the south know that they could have their rights in Michigan ;
and a judgment in Michigan, and especially in Detroit, rendered by a Michigan
jury and against Michigan men for interference with those rights, would give
great weight to certain schemes then in process of incubation. (Governor Cass was
then a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency.) The case
was plain enough to Gorham without that friendly intimation, to which was added
the gratuitous information that when the judgment was obtained, they, Stuart and
others, would put their hands into their pockets and help pay the amount. Austin
Wing was United States marshal and manipulated the jury, and witnesses were
produced whose testimony was shown by the defendants to be totally unreliable •
but the fiat had gone forth : a scapegoat was wanted, and the defendants Gor-
ham, Hurd, and Comstock stood in the breach, and were saddled finally with the
sins of the people, and sent into the wilderness of political chicanery, with the hope
that they would remain long enough to take the candidate through ; but the hero
of Buena Vista carried the day, and the only effect the trial had was to make the
case a pivotal point upon which the compromise of 1850 turned, and the omnibus
bill included a more stringent law for the south to recapture her fugitive slaves
from the north. Mr. Clay, in his famous efforts in the compromise, in the United
States Senate, alluded to the Marshall affair as a proof that the law of 1793 was
insufficient for the recovery of human property, and thus Marshall became the
cynosure of all the Union for a time. The chief actors do not regret the part
they actually took in the matter, looking at the results, which finally culminated in
the overthrow of the institution of slavery. John Van Arman conducted the
case of Crosswhite against the Southerners for breaking in his house, and it is
said caused the chivalry to " grow white about the gills" and faint by reason of
his caustic examination.

The presidential vote of 1840 resulted thus: Democratic, 1169; Whig, 1153;
majority, 16. In 1844 the people indicated their preferences after this manner:
giving James K. Polk 1528, Henry Clay 1357, and Birney, the Abolition candi-
date, 226; Democratic plurality, 171. In 1848 the Democrats polled 1487 votes,
the Whigs 1254, and the Free Soilers gave Van Buren 745 ; Democratic plurality,
233. In 1852 the Democratic candidate, General Pierce, received 1824 votes,
the Whig candidate, Major-General Scott, 1784, and the Abolitionists polled 440
votes ; Democratic plurality, 38. In 1856, the first year of the Republican party's
history, Fremont received 3495 and Mr. Buchanan 2151, and the Prohibition
candidate 122; Republican majority over all, 1242. In 1860, Mr. Lincoln re-
ceived 4072 votes, Mr. Douglas 2448, Breckinridge 45, and Bell 38 ; majority of
Republicans over all, 1541. In 1864, Mr. Lincoln was indorsed for a second
term by 3742 of the people, and General McClellan's supporters numbered 2521,
and there was a single scattering vote in the county; Republican majority, 1220.
In 1868, General Grant received 5048 votes, and Governor Seymour 3200 ; Re-
publican majority, 1848. In 1872, General Grant was indorsed by 4487 of the
people, and Mr. Greeley received 2353 votes, O'Conor 100, and Black 124; Re-
publican majority over all, 1910. In 1876, Governor Hayes received 5167 votes,
Governor Tilden 3885, and Mr. Cooper, the Greenback candidate, received 84
votes; Republican majority over all, 1198. In 1853 the Maine law, so called,
was submitted to the people for rejection or adoption, and received the following
vote in the county: for adoption, 2482; against, 727. At this election some in-
dividual cast the following-inscribed ballot, to place himself squarely upon the
record: "I go for the Maine law, for the extension of suffrage to white females,
the abolishment of all penal laws for not keeping the Sabbath, for the distribution
of the public lands to actual settlers, and for free trade, free schools, free speech,
and universal taxation, in which church property shall find no exemption, and
cowards' castles no legislative protection. — J. B." "J. B." looks a little Pick-
wickian, and suggests "tough old Joe Bagstock" of Dickens. ' In 1850 the vote
on the adoption of the new constitution stood 2340 in favor to 180 against it,
and the clause on negro suffrage received 623 votes in favor of its adoption to
1834 against it.

The vote of 1876 by townships was as follows:

Republican. Democratic. Cooper. Total.

Albion 402 321 1 724

Athens 211 199 3 413

Bedford 189 76 35 300

Burlington 204 200 5 409

Battle Creek township 175 83 4 262

Battle Creek city 898 491 15 1404

Convis 149 106 255

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

25

Republican. Democratic. Cooper. Total.

Clarendon 193 103 2 298

Clarence 117 169 1 287

Eekford 191 88 1 280

Emmett 215 67 10 292

Fredonia 104 142 246

Homer 245 211 9 465

Le Roy 229 69 4 302

Lee 89 182 1 272

Marengo 144 180 324

Marshall township 121 139 1 261

Marshall city 455 550 1005

Newton 130 78 208

Pennfield 189 56 9 254

Sheridan 270 215 6 491

Tekonsha ... % ...247 160 407

THE POPULATION
of the county of Calhoun by decades from 1840 is given as follows: commencing

with a single family in 1831, the census of 1840 revealed a population of 10,600
souls. These souls had increased and multiplied during the next decade till they

numbered 19,169 in 1850. Over 10,000 were added the next ten years, the
count being 29,398 in I860. In 1870 the people were numbered again, and
there were 36,571 of them, of both sexes. In 1874 the State authorities could
not find so many as the United States marshal did four years before, and returned

but 35,655 of all kinds and colors. They were distributed among the townships
and cities as follows :

Males. Females. Total.

Albion 1304 1310 2614

Athens 672 635 1307

Battle Creek township 514 472 986

Battle Creek city 2527 2796 5323

Bedford 692 664 1356

Burlington 792 732 1524

Clarence 532 500 1032

Clarendon 547 462 1009

Convis 519 422 941

Eekford 594 547 1141

Emmett 663 617 1280

Fredonia 519 465 984

Homer 922 850 1772

Lee 612 503 1115

LeRoy 635 572 1207

Marengo 678 575 1253

Marshall township 500 453 953

Marshall city 2224 2399 4623

Newton 465 426 891

Pennfield 580 530 1110

Sheridan 877 810 1687

Tekonsha 788 759 1547

18,156 17,499 35,655

CHAPTER IX.

EDUCATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS : THE FIRST SCHOOL — STATISTICS OF 1876 —
THE FIRST SERMON — FIRST RELIGIOUS SOCIETY — FIRST CHURCH — PIONEER
PREACHERS — SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST COLLEGE.

When the pioneers of Calhoun came to its borders, from their New York and
New England homes, they brought their institutions and their household goods
with them. As soon as a cabin had been rolled up for a shelter for the domestic
treasures, and land sufficient cleared and broken up to assure them of an existence,
their attention was turned towards the school-house and the church.

Education and religious worship ran parallel to each other in the early days,
even as it does in these later ones. The motives that led to the settlement of
America by Europeans are classified under three leading ideas, — the thirst of
gold, exemplified in the Spanish conquest; the cavalier's idea of living on the
labors of others, that found expression in African slavery ; and the desire for
education, upon which the Puritan idea of New England was founded. The latter
has overthrown both of the others, and its precepts and practice are fast perme-
ating the whole structure of American society. It is that idea, and its outgrowth,
that has founded schools and built school-houses on almost every cross-road in
Calhoun County, that has from a single log house in 1832 expanded into nearly
two hundred brick and frame buildings, where twelve thousand pupils can be edu-
cated from the very A B C of school instruction to the highest attainments of
a classical course. And this advantage, enjoyed alike by every county in the
State of sufficient population to warrant the outlay needful therefor, is largely
the result of the labors of two of Calhoun's citizens, pioneers whom their fellow-
pioneers have in times past delighted to honor, and for whose memories they have
the loftiest sentiments of respect.

General Isaac E. Crary and Rev. John D. Pierce, pioneers of Marshall in
1831-32, are justly regarded as the fathers of the present school system of Mich-
igan, because they worked together to digest a system, examining the eastern systems
4

and the Prussian plan of education, and together devised what appeared to be the
best calculated to produce the desired results. General Crary, as chairman of the
committee on education in the first constitutional convention, introduced the article
on that subject, and it was adopted. One particular point was provided for which
exhibited wisdom and foresight on the part of the framers of the article.

Provision was made, by Congress, for the State to assume control of the sixteenth
sections donated by the general government for public school purposes in the town-
ships, and also to control the donation of the seventy-two sections for college or
seminary purposes. This was a wise precaution, especially in the former instance,
for by so doing the lands were held until prices advanced, and a handsome endow-
ment was thus obtained for the common school. The people of Michigan cannot
hold the memories of these two pioneers in too high esteem, nor reverence them
too much, for their grand work's sake.

The first school-house built in the county of Calhoun was a small frame build-;
ing erected on the street now known as Mansion street, in the city of Marshall,
near the Presbyterian parsonage as now situated, in May, 1832, and which build-
ing served for several years afterwards for a gathering-place for religious worship
and secular meetings, and for holding courts and all kinds of public business. It
stands now just in the rear of its first location, and is used as a stable. The first
school-teacher was Eliza Ketchum, who is now deceased. It was not long after
this before schools were opened in Albion, at Athens and Battle Creek ; and before
six years had rolled by, every one of the twenty townships of the county had one
or more school-houses. The first brick school-house was built in Marshall, on
Green street, and is still occupied. It was erected in or about 1840.

Academies sprang up in Marshall and Albion in 1839 and 1840, and the
higher grades of instruction were brought within the reach of the people. It is
safe to say that no county in the State possessed so cultivated and intelligent a class
of pioneers as did Calhoun, and the effect is easily discernible forty years after-
wards, in the most elegant high school buildings in Battle Creek and Marshall
cities, the neat and commodious brick and frame structures scattered throughout
the townships, and the Albion and Battle Creek colleges. There has ever been
an air of refinement and culture about the old county, at once attractive and ele-
vating to all "of like precious faith" who have come within its influence.

The school statistics for the year ending September 1, 1876, will give the con-
trast, pleasing and striking, of the days that are now, and those that have been.
We append them by townships, in order that the exhibit of each may be more
fully seen.

Athens had seven frame school-houses, capable of seating four hundred and
seventy-six persons, and valued at $5625 ; four hundred and six children of the
requisite school age, between five and twenty years, were resident in the town-
ship, of whom three hundred and sixty-four attended the schools, which were in
session an average of seven and one-half months each. Six male teachers taught
twenty-nine and one-half months, and received $1245 therefor; and seven females
taught thirty-two and one-half months, and received $690. The total expendi-
tures amounted to $2788.54.

Albion had one stone, six brick, and three frame school-houses, with eight
hundred and forty-four sittings, valued at $49,300 ; of nine hundred and thirty
six children, eight hundred and two attended the schools, which were in session
an average of over eight months each. Five male teachers received $1985 for
twenty-five and one-half months' services ; and twenty-two females, $3308 for one
hundred and ten months. The total expenditures were $12,762.65, including
$4240 paid on bonded indebtedness, of which $23,600 is still outstanding and
unpaid. Albion village has a most excellent graded school, where the higher
branches of literature are taught.

Bedford had one brick and eleven frame school-houses, with five hundred and
ninety-four sittings, and valued at $12,200 ; of four hundred and ninety-four
children, four hundred and four attended the schools,which were in session an
average of eight months each. Seven male teachers received $1255 for thirty-
three months' work, and twenty-five females received $1158 for sixty-six months ;
the total expenditures being $3835.55, including $945 on indebtedness.

Burlington had two brick and six frame school-houses, with five hundred and
thirty-two sittings, valued at $8900 ; of four hundred and ninety-two children,
four hundred and thirteen attended the schools, which were in session an average
of eight months each. Six male teachers received $886 for twenty- three months'
work, and fifteen females received $990 for fifty-six months; the total expenditures
being $2588.88. One graded school in the township.

Battle Creek township had two brick and seven frame school-houses, with four
hundred and ninety-seven sittings, valued at $8700 ; of three hundred and thirty-
two children, two hundred and seventy-six attended the schools, which were in
session an average of seven and one-half months. Six male teachers received
$789 for twenty-three months' services, and thirteen females received $805 for
forty-five months ; the total expenditures being $2489.30.

20

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Clarendon had one log, one brick, and five frame school-houses, with three hun-
dred and forty-nine sittings, valued at $2660 ; of thirty-five children, two hun-
dred and ninety-seven attended the schools, which were in session an average of
nine months each. Four male teachers received $480 for twenty-two months'
work, and thirteen females for forty-six months received $813; the total expendi-
tures being $2137.96.

Clarence had three brick and five frame school-houses, with six hundred and
fifty-six sittings, valued at $10,400. Of four hundred and fifty-four children,
three hundred and fifty-eight attended the schools, which were in session over
seven and a half months each on an average. Four male teachers received $685
for sixteen months, and twelve females for forty-five months received $698 ; the
total expenditures being $2950.31.

Convis had two brick and four frame school-houses, with two hundred and ninety-
five sittings, valued at $3200. Of two hundred and ninety-nine children, two
hundred and fifty attended the schools, which were in session an average of eight
months each. Eleven females received for forty-seven and a half months' services
$941 ; the total expenditures being $1169.26.

Emmett had two stone, one brick, and eight frame school-houses, with six hundred
and forty sittings, valued at $14,100. Of four hundred and fifty-nine children,
three hundred and ninety-four attended the schools, which were in session an
average of eight months. Five male teachers received $1030 for twenty-six
months' services, and seventeen females for seventy-three months received $1622 ;
the total expenditures being $3329.97.

Eckford had one brick and eight frame school-houses, with three hundred and
eighty-six sittings, valued at $6550. Of three hundred and forty-six children,
two hundred and eighty-four attended the schools, whose sessions averaged seven
and a half months. Eight male teachers received $840 for twenty-five and a half
months' services, and fourteen females for forty-one and a half months received
$682 ; the total expenditures being $2116.87.

Fredonia had eight frame school-houses, with three hundred and ninety sittings,
valued at $4100. Of three hundred and fifteen children, two hundred and seventy-
two attended the schools, whose sessions averaged seven and a half months. Five
male teachers received $709 for nineteen months' work, and nine females for
thirty-nine months received $660 ; the total expenditures being $1649.87.

Homer had one stone, one brick, and six frame school-houses, with six hundred
and ninety-five sittings, valued at $14,500. Of six hundred and thirteen children,
five hundred and twenty-one attended the schools, whose sessions averaged eight
months each. Six male teachers received $1438 for twenty-nine months' work,
"and fifteen females for sixty-eight months received $1686 ; the total expenditures
being $3998.69. One graded school in Homer village.

Lee had one log and seven frame school-houses, with four hundred and sixty -two
sittings, valued at $3850. Of four hundred and forty children, three hundred
and thirty-eight attended the schools, whose sessions averaged six and two-thirds
months. Five male teachers received $366 for twelve months' work, and thirteen
females for forty-two months received $807 ; the total expenditures being
$1684.71.

Le Roy had eight frame school-houses, with four hundred and thirty-five sittings,
valued at $4300. Of four hundred and sixty-eight children, three hundred and
twenty-six attended the schools, whose sessions averaged seven and a half months
each. Seven male teachers received for twenty-seven and a half months' services
$904, and nine females for thirty-two and a half months received $520 ; the total
expenditures being $1672.32.

Marshall township had seven school-houses, with three hundred and seventy-four
sittings, valued at $5200. Of two hundred and thirty-five children, two hundred
and twenty-four attended the schools, whose sessions averaged over eight months
each. Five male teachers received $563 for twenty months' services, and nine
females for forty-three months received $681 ; the total expenditures being
$1497.63.

Marengo had three brick and six frame school-houses, with four hundred and
sixty-two sittings, valued at $10,650. Of three hundred and ninety children,
three hundred and thirty-five attended the sessions of the schools, which averaged
eight months. Five male teachers received $825 for twenty-one months' services,
and eleven females for fifty months received $1040 ; the total expenditures being
$2783.69.

Newton had nine frame school-houses, with five hundred and fifty-six sittings,
valued at $5675. Of three hundred and sixty-eight children, three hundred and
eighteen attended the schools, whose sessions averaged over eight months. Seven
male teachers received $823 for twenty-three months' services, and fourteen females
for forty-two months received $679 ; the total expenditures being $1633.26.

Pennfield had one stone and eight frame school-houses, with four hundred and
sixty-seven sittings, valued at $9050. Of three hundred and eighty-three children,
three hundred and twenty-two attended the schools, whose sessions averaged eight

months. Five male teachers received $767 for twenty-two months' work, and
thirteen females for forty-seven and a half months received $1075.30 ; the total
expenditures being $3064.10, including $740 on buildings.

Sheridan had one stone, one brick, and five frame school-houses, with three
hundred and twenty-five sittings, valued at $3800. Of two hundred and eighty-
six children, two hundred and thirty-seven attended the schools, whose sessions
averaged eight months each. Four male teachers received $575 for sixteen months'
services, and ten females for thirty-eight months received $684 ; the total expen-
ditures being $1818.43.

Tekonsha had one brick and seven frame school-houses, with four hundred and
seventy-five sittings, valued at $15,400. Of five hundred and thirty-five children,
four hundred and seventy attended the schools, whose sessions averaged eight
months each. Five male teachers received $1014 for twenty-four months' services,
and fourteen females for fifty-eight months received $1191 ; the total expenditures
being $3684.86. One graded school in the township.

The grand aggregate of the county, outside of the cities of Battle Creek and
Marshall, which manage their schools independently of the county, is as follows :
there are in the county, with the exceptions above noted, 168 school-houses, in-
cluding 2 of logs, 6 of stone, 25 of brick, and 135 of wood, framed, capable of
furnishing 9771 sittings, and valued at $198,162. Of 8608 children of the
requisite school age, resident in the county, 7205 attended the schools, whose
sessions averaged about eight months each. 105 male teachers were employed
437 months, and paid $17,039 for their services; and 266 females taught 1023
months and received $20,482 for their wages. The total expenditures of the year
amounted to $59,656.85, including $6200 paid on bonded indebtedness and
repairs on buildings, etc. The outstanding bonded indebtedness was $34,200.
There are five graded schools included in the above list.

Battle Creek city has four brick school-houses, including one high school in
which the higher classics are taught, valued at $150,000. Of fifteen hundred
and ninety-one children of the requisite age, thirteen hundred and ninety-nine
were enrolled as attendants on the sessions of the schools, which were of ten
•months' duration. The cost of instruction and superintendence for the year
was $12,250, and other expenses incidental, $4427.48; amount paid on
bonded indebtedness $10,500 ; on permanent improvements $153.23 ; the total
expenditures amounting to $27,330.71 ; tuition fees from non-resident pupils were
received amounting to $905.31 ; and the total receipts for the year amounted
to $32,681.47.

Marshall city has five brick school-houses, including one high school, with
twelve hundred sittings, valued at $140,000. Of twelve hundred and seventy-
six children in the city of the requisite age, nine hundred and sixty attended the
schools, which were in session ten months. The cost of superintendence and
instruction was $10,225; incidental expenses $2096.82; paid on bonded in-
debtedness $7300 ; and for repairs $241.45 ; the total expenditures being $19,-
863.27 ; tuition fees were received from non-resident pupils amounting to $426.21 ;
the total receipts for the year being $21,203.30; the bonded indebtedness, out-
standing and unpaid, amounts to $40,000. Adding the statistics of these two
cities to those of the balance of the county, we have the magnificent exhibit of
9564 scholars attendant on the public schools, which are maintained at the cost
of $59,996 per annum for instruction, with a total expenditure for the year ending
September 1, 1876, of $106,850.83, the value of the one hundred and seventy-
seven school-houses being $488,162.

What nobler record can be written than this ?

THE CHURCH.

Wherever the Jesuit, without whose previous presence " no cape was turned or
river entered" in the northwest by the explorers of the French or English rulers
of the soil, found an Indian village, he proclaimed to its inhabitants the cross under
whose symbol he penetrated the wilderness amid wild and savage tribes ; and like-
wise the missionaries of Wesley and of Knox, wherever they found a settler's
cabin, proclaimed the glad tidings of salvation, free to all. Sleeping under the
trees, the blue vaulted heavens for their canopy and the stars for their watchers,
these self-sacrificing men rode their circuits for weeks at a time, swimming rivers,
floundering through marshes, following the trails of the red man, guided by the
stars or by the instinct of woodcraft, gained by long familiarity with nature in her
wildest aspect, trusting to find the cabin of some pioneer, where they might break
their many times long-enforced fast. And wherever or whenever they found such
a cabin, no matter how humble, or to what straits of necessity its inmates were
reduced, the humble fare was shared, even to the last handful of meal, though
the supply must be brought only by a wearisome journey of miles in length and
weeks in duration. One of these Methodist itinerants, named Walker, had a cir-
cuit of six hundred miles, through Ohio, Indiana, and southern Michigan, which
he rode every six weeks, swimming the Maumee river on each trip. As late as

; t'

lltft

tek*: c - *

'j-'^C^- -

&$l

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

27

1838, Rev. A. M. Fitch's circuit was bounded only by the Indiana line on the
south, Augusta on the west, Lansing on the north, and Grass lake on the east.

The Rev. John D. Pierce, a Presbyterian missionary from Madison county,
New York, has been generally accredited with preaching the first sermon and or-
ganizing the first church in Calhoun County ; but we find, after laborious investi-
gation, that Wesley's itinerants were the first in the field, antedating Mr. Pierce's
first sermon by some three or four hours, and the organization of his church a few
months. We have had the pleasure of examining the journal of Elijah H.
Pilcher, the first Methodist Episcopal minister of Calhoun, and find the following
entries therein written at the dates given :

"Tuesday, October 4, 1831. — Rode to Marshall. ... No other minister
has as yet visited this place to preach except Randall Hobart, a Methodist local
preacher." " Monday, October 10. — Preached at Marshall yesterday." Mr. Pilcher
says, during the previous week, while he was at Marshall, Rev. Mr. Pierce arrived
and preached in the afternoon of the 9th October, he, Pilcher, having preached
in the morning of the same day.* Mr. Hobart came in August, 1831, and held
religious services every Sabbath in his house. In September Mr. Pilcher was
appointed to the circuit which included Marshall in its charges, and on the day
named above, October 9, preached in the morning at the house of Sidney Ketchum,
Mr. Pierce preaching in the double log house that he afterwards occupied as a resi-
dence, Mr. Pilcher being one of his auditors. Mr. Pierce arrived on the Saturday
before, according to the testimony of 0. C. Thompson, of Ann Arbor, a Presby-
terian minister, who was then traveling through the country in the interest of the
Home Missionary Society of that church. Mr. Thompson also gives Mr. Pilcher
the preference of preaching the first sermon on the same day. On the 6th of
November, at Mr. Pilcher's second visit to Marshall, he organized a Methodist
class, the first church organization in the county, with Randall Hobart (leader),
Ruth Hobart, Sidney Ketchum, Catharine Ketchum, Seth Ketchum, and Eliza
Ketchum, as members. The first communion, or Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,
was celebrated in Calhoun County on an occasion of a two days' meeting held
by Rev. Mr. Pilcher, assisted by Rev. William Fowler, from the State of New
York. This meeting was held at the new school-house, on the 6th and 7th
June, 1832, the sacrament being administered on Sunday the 7th. The class in-
creased to fifteen members during the year.

Both of these pioneers are yet living ; Mr. Pierce, at Ypsilanti, to.o enfeebled by
the infirmities of age to follow his sacred calling, and Mr. Pilcher still in the
harness, being a much younger man than his pioneer colleague. Mr. Pierce at-
tended the pioneer gathering at Marshall, January 26, 1874, where he addressed
his old-time friends as follows : " It is now nearly forty-three years since I first
arrived in Marshall, where I held the first (Presbyterian) meeting and organized
the first (Presbyterian) church in the county, in a double log building, with
thirty persons for a congregation. I held the first meeting and organized the first
church also in both of the counties of Branch and Eaton, and married the first
pair and preached the first funeral sermon in Calhoun and Eaton counties. I
have traveled a hundred miles to *marry a pair and preach a funeral sermon. It
is my pride to have been one to help lay the foundations of our present grand
school system. I want no better monument to my name than this. I settled in
Marshall when the white population of Michigan and Wisconsin (then one terri-
torial organization) did not number more than thirty-two thousand all told. I have
lived thank God, to see it multiplied till it reaches two million seven hundred
thousand ! I have seen the little handful of children become an army numbering
five hundred thousand. Our university has now become the first institution of
the country, and it is our boast that there is no child so humble or poor that it
cannot get a good sound common school education. Let us thank G-od and press
on !" As stated previously, Mr. Pierce was the first State superintendent of
public instruction in Michigan, as well as in the nation. He was a Congregation-
alist and, as intimated in his remarks above quoted, organized the first churches
of that denomination in Calhoun and the contiguous counties. He was ever a
most excellent man, whether as neighbor, educator, or minister of the gospel, and
the feeling with which he is regarded by the surviving pioneers of Calhoun, who
have known him long and intimately, is akin to veneration and closely allied to
love. His fame, however, is as wide as the borders of the " beautiful peninsula"
wherein his best works have been performed, and which indeed form his highest
and grandest memorials. Mr. Pilcher has been prominently connected with the
Methodist church during the whole of his useful life. He rode the circuit for
years as an itinerant and presiding elder, and is still connected with the Michigan
conference in some important capacity. His works have followed, and will con-
tinue to follow him, as long as life lasts, and then, though he rest from his labors,
the assurance is given that his works shall yet follow him. The first meetings

were held in the dwelling-house of Mr. Pierce on one Sunday, and the next at the
house of Sidney Ketchum ; Randall Hobart, a local Methodist preacher, and Mr.
Pilcher, alternating with Mr. Pierce at the latter place, until the school-house was
built in May, 1832, and after that the meetings were held in that house until
the Congregational session house was built in the summer of 1837. It was built
of wood, framed, and was forty feet by twenty-six feet on the ground, and would
seat about one hundred and forty persons comfortably, and cost twelve hundred
dollars. The society was organized May 20, 1832, with seven persons, Stephen
Kimball being the first deacon and Mr. Pierce the first pastor. Two of the little
band fell victims to the cholera the same summer. The first brick church was
also built in Marshall, and by a layman, Jabez S. Fitch, in 1843, and cost some
seven thousand to eight thousand dollars, and was afterwards purchased by the
Presbyterian church, an offshoot of the first Congregational church before named.
A Methodist church was built in 1837, by Sidney Ketchum, and given to the
society in Marshall by him, which was the first Methodist Episcopal church edifice
erected in the county. The first Episcopal church parish in the county was or-
ganized in Marshall in the spring of 1837, and a church edifice completed the fol-
lowing autumn, the first service of the ritual in that denomination being held in
the summer of 1836, by Rev. Charles B. Stout. Rev. Samuel Buel was the first
rector.

The present church statistics make the following exhibit of the religious stand-
ing of the county : There are some fifty-five to sixty organizations, with about as
many houses of worship, capable of seating eighteen thousand persons, and which,
with the parsonages and other property attached, are valued at nearly four hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. These organizations are distributed among the different
denominations as follows : fifteen Baptist, thirteen Methodist Episcopal, five
Presbyterian, three Lutheran, three Ad ventist (Seventh-Day), two Congregational,
four Evangelical Association, three Episcopal, two Methodist Protestant, two
Methodist (African), one Christian, one Friends, one Free Methodist, one United
Presbyterian, three Roman Catholic.

The Methodist Episcopal church have the control of the Albion College, a most
excellent institution of learning, the foundation of which was laid in the Wesleyan
Academy, in 1841, the corner-stone of the first building being laid July 6 of that
year, the Rev. Mr. Grant being the projector of the same. It was completed in
1842, and school began in the fall of that year. The building was one hundred
feet by forty feet on the ground, and four stories in height. The Adventist denomi-
nation have under their management a college, at Battle Creek, and an extensive
publishing department, from which weekly and monthly papers are issued in
three different languages, and a very large amount of denominational literature
scattered broadcast throughout the world.

* Since writing the above we learn from Mr. Pierce that the meeting of October 9 was not
the first preaching in the village of Marshall, but that on the first Sunday in July previously
(1831), he preached in Marshall, being then on a tour of observation through the country.

*

ALBION COLLEGE.

Like the river on whose banks it stands, this institution has its remotest
sources in adjoining counties eastward, and in the somewhat distant: past. As
early as 1833, while southern Michigan was yet an almost unbroken forest, the
project of planting a seminary of learning, under Methodist patronage, in the
midst of our scattered population, was frequently discussed. Dr. Benjamin H.
Packard, Rev. H. Colclazer, both of Ann Arbor, and Rev. E. H. Pilcher, of
Monroe, were prominent in taking the initiative.

In 1834 the enterprise received the sanction of the Ohio Conference, which at
that time held ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Methodism in Michigan ; and on
March 23, 1835, " an act to incorporate the trustees of Spring Arbor Seminary"
was approved by the legislative council of the Territory.

The first session of the " body corporate" was held on October 29, 1835, at the
house of Dr. Sampson Stoddard, in the village of Jacksonburg. Adjourning to
the counting-room of Hon. George B. Cooper, the following persons were elected
officers of the board : Benjamin H. Packard, M.D., President ; David Colman,
first Yice-President ; Sampson Stoddard, M.D., second Vice-President ; Deacon
William Smith, Secretary ; Colonel Moses Benedict, Treasurer. Rev. Elijah Crane
was subsequently elected the first financial agent. Deeds of lands to the amount
of two hundred and ten acres were executed by William Smith and M. Benedict
in favor of the seminary. Numerous subscriptions were obtained, and one hun-
dred thousand brick engaged for the seminary edifice. But the financial pressure
of 1836-37 coming on, it was judged prudent to delay the work of building.
Meanwhile, many friends of the enterprise, regarding the location of Spring Arbor
ineligible, proposed to remove it to whatever town should offer the most favorable
inducements. The citizens of Albion agreeing to donate beautiful and extensive
grounds for seminary purposes, and subscribing several thousand dollars to aid
in the erection of suitable buildings, it was deemed expedient to make the
transfer.

* By W. H. Perrine, D.D.

28

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Accordingly, on the 12th of April, 1839, an amendment of the original act of
incorporation was secured from the legislature of the State, changing the name
and location from " Spring Arbor Seminary" to " The Wesleyan Seminary of
Albion," and the number of the trustees from twenty one to thirteen. The first
trustees under the amended charter were the following : Elijah Crane (President),
Alvan Billings (first Yice-President), Marvin Hannahs (second Vice-President),
Jesse Crowell (Treasurer), E. H. Pilcher (Secretary), Benjamin H. Packard, Almon
Herrick, Thomas H. Pray, Jesse Gardiner, Peter Williamson, and ArzaC. Robin-
son. Rev. Loring Grant was appointed general agent.

The corner-stone of the central edifice was laid July 6, 1841, Hon. Henry W.
Taylor, of Marshall, delivering " an able and eloquent address." On October 27,
1842, a preparatory department was opened, under the supervision of Rev. G. P.
Tyndall, in a temporary building erected for that purpose. In November, 1843,
the seminary proper began its sessions in the edifice of the Methodist church, and
in January, 1844, in the central building, under the following faculty : Rev. Chas.
F. Stockwell, A.B., Principal and Professor of Languages and Mathematics ; Jesse
Vose, Professor of Natural and Moral Science and English Literature; William
W. Clark and Nelson Valentine, Assistant Teachers ; Miss Octavia Gardiner,
Preceptress.

The whole number of students at the institution during the year was three
hundred.

The next organic change in the structure of the institution occurred in 1850,
when, by an amendment of the previous charter, the following board were incor-
porated under the name of " Albion Female Collegiate Institute and Wesleyan
Seminary" : A. M. Fitch (President), Edward McClure (first Vice-President),
Worcester Dean (second Vice-President), C. M. Cobb (Secretary), Joseph French
(Treasurer), G. L. Foster, E. H. Pilcher, R. Sapp, H. Packard, 0. C. Comstock,
Benjamin Faxon, E. J. House, and L. D. Crippen. The faculty, at the begin-
ning of this new epoch, consisted of the following :

Rev. Clark T. Hinman, A.M., President and Professor of Moral and Intellec-
tual Philosophy; Rev. E. W. Merrill, A.M., Professor of Ancient Languages and
Elocution ; Rev. Norman Abbott, A.M., Professor of Mathematics ; Rev. L. R.
Fisk, A.B., Professor of Natural Science; I. C. Cochran, Teacher of Primary
English Literature ; Miss Sarah Hunt, Principal of Female Department and
Teacher of Belles-Lettres ; Miss Mary Adams, Teacher of Modern Languages and
Fine Arts; Mrs. Mary E. Church, Teacher of Music; and Joseph Chamberlain,
Teacher of Indian Department. Joseph French was steward, and Rev. W. H.
Brockway was general agent. The whole number of students in all departments
was three hundred and fifty-five.

The next change in the organic status of the institution occurred by act of the
legislature February 16, 1861, by which George Smith (President), Samuel W.
Walker (first Vice-President), Manasseh Hickey (second Vice-President), Wil-
liam Farley (Treasurer), E. Holstock, E. H. Pilcher, W. E. Bigelow, Andrew M.
Fitch, Wm. Bort, John C. Blanchard, Wm. H. Johnson, and Clinton B. Fisk
were constituted a corporate body, under the name of Albion College. The
Faculty was as follows : Rev. T. H. Sinex, D.D., President and Professor of
Moral and Intellectual Philosophy and Political Economy ; Rev. C. C. Olds,
A.M., Professor of Natural Science; John Richards, Professor of Ancient Lan-
guages ; Miss Julia F. Robinson, Principal of Female Department and Teacher
of French and Fine Arts ; Miss Charlotte Imus, Assistant Teacher ; and Henry
Meakin, Professor of Music. The number of students for the year was two hun-
dred and ninety.

The last change in the charter of the institution took place by legislative act on
February 25, 1865. Hon. John Owen and E. G. Merrick, Esq., both of Detroit,
together with E. J. Connable, Esq., of Jackson, were constituted " an endowment
fund committee" to receive, hold in trust, and invest all moneys contributed for
the endowment of the college, and to pay over to the board of trustees semi-
annually all the interest accruing thereon.

The board of trustees at this epoch of development was constituted as follows :
Jas. W. Sheldon, President ; Martin Haven, First Vice-President ; S. W. Walker,
Second Vice-President ; A. M. Fitch, Treasurer ; Geo. Smith, Julius D. Morton,
S. Clement, David Preston, Alvan Billings, Wm. Bort, W. H. Brockway, and
J. S. Tuttle. Rev. Israel Coggsball was agent. The faculty was constituted as
follows :

Rev. Geo. B. Jocelyn, D.D., President and Professor of Moral and Mental
Science ; Rev. W. H. Perrine, A.M., Professor of Natural Science and the Fine
Arts ; W. H. Shelly, A.M., Professor of Latin and Greek Languages and Litera-
ture ; Mrs. Livonia B. Perrine, A.M., Professor of Mathematics ; Miss Rachel
Carney, M.S., Preceptress and Professor of Modern Languages; Miss Juliet
Bradbury, M.S.A., and Miss Elizabeth Hollingsworth, Teachers of Instrumental
and Vocal Music.

The present status of the college is as follows :

Corporation.

Elected by the Detroit Conference.
Name. Residence.

Rev. J. Bigelow Romeo

Rev. Seth Reed Ann Arbor,...

John C. Clark St. Clair ,

Time Expires.

1878.

1878.

1877.

Rev. J. S. Smart Port Huron 1877.

David Preston, First Vice-President Detroit 1879.

Otis A. Critchett, A.M Monroe 1879.

Elected by the Michigan Conference.

Rev. Wm. H. Brockway, President Albion 1878.

James W. Sheldon, Treasurer Albion 1878.

Hon. C. R. Brown Port Huron 1877.

Rev. T. F. Hildreth, A.M Grand Rapids 1877.

Geo. S. Clapp St. Joseph 1879.

Hon. Hampton Rich, Second Vice-President.Ionia 1879.

*Pres't Geo. B. Jocelyn, Secretary Albion, ex officio.

Endowment Fund Committee.

Hon. John Owen Detroit... January 1, 1883.

E. J. Connable, Esq Jackson " 1, 1880.

E. G. Merrick, Esq Detroit " 1, 1877.

Albion Provisional Board of Control.

Rev. A. M. Fitch Chairman.

James W. Sheldon Secretary and Treasurer.

Martin Haven, Esq Jacob Anderson, Esq.

Rev. Wm. H. Brockway Orlando C. Gale, Esq.

Martin B. Wood, Esq.

Board of Visitors and Examiners.

Appointed by the Detroit Conference. — Rev. L. R. Fiske, D.D., Rev. J. C. Wortley, A.M.,
Prof. Sallie A. Rulison, M.S.

Appointed by the Michigan Conference. — Rev. A. R. Boggs, Rev. Geo. S. Barnes, Rev. H. F.
Spencer.

Appointed by the Alumni Association. — Elmer D. North, M.S., Franc M. Sanders Nichols,
M.S., Alvah W. Bradley, A.B.

Faculty.

Geo. B. Jocelyn, President;* Jas. H. Hopkins, Vice-President; Lucy A. Osband, Precept-
ress; Rev. Geo. B. Jocelyn, D.D., Moral and Intellectual Philosophy; Rev. Jas. H. Hopkins,
D.D., Latin Language and Literature; Wm. M. Osband, A.M., Natural Science; Mrs. Lucy A.
Osband, A.M., Modern Languages ; Rev. Rollin C. Welch, A.M., Greek and Hebrew Languages
and Literature; Wm. Havemann, Vocal and Instrumental Music; George B. Merriman, A.M.,
Mathematics; Rev. Lewis F. Stearns, A.M., History and Belles Lettres; H. A. Mills, Instructor
in Painting, Drawing, and Perspective; Mrs. Julia E. W. Havemann, Teacher of Guitar;
Jno. M. Roach, Chas. H. Chase, Geo. L. Bailey, Tutors in Mathematics ; P. Delia Pierce, Tutor
in Latin ; Bertha F. Aldrich, Tutor in English ; Rollin C. Welch, Secretary ; Geo. B. Merriman,
Librarian ; Chas. H. Chase, Statistical Secretary.

Standing Committees for 1876—77.

Executive Committee. — Wm. H. Brockway, David Preston, H. Rich, Jas. W. Sheldon, Geo.
B. Jocelyn.

Auditing Committee. — Jas. W. Sheldon, George B. Jocelyn, Wm. H. Brockway.

Committee on Finance. — H. Rich, Wm. Allman, A. J. Bigelow.

Committee on Faculty. — Otis A. Critchett, C. R. Brown, T. F. Hildreth.

Committee on Rules and Regulations. — Geo. B. Jocelyn, T. F. Hildreth, David Preston.

Committee on Courses of Study. — Geo. B. Jocelyn, A. J. Bigelow, J. S. Smart.

Committee on Library and Apparatus.— J . S. Smart, S. Reed, Wm. Allman.

Committee on Buildings and Grounds. — Wm. H. Brockway, R. C. Welch, Jas. W. Sheldon.

Financial Exhibit.

Buildings, Grounds, and Furniture $65,000.00

Library, Apparatus, and Cabinet 5,000.00

President's House , 2,000.00

Funds in hands of Endowment Fund Committee :

Bonds and Mortgages $131,004.00

Notes 12,550.00

$72,000.00

In hands of Albion Board of Control.,
Notes

143,554.00
25,000.00
23,896.26

$192,450.26

Income on the above for the years 1875 and 1876 11,864.00

" from other sources 4,078.97

$15,942.97
The present indebtedness of the college is $19,200, to provide for which a sinking fund has
been created.

BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE.

The pressing need of a college under the special control of Seventh-Day Ad-
ventists was first recognized by Elder James White and wife, several years before
the establishment of this institution.

This need was manifest, 1st, in the demand for the special preparation of young
men for ministerial and missionary work ; 2d, in the deep conviction that much
better mental and moral discipline could be attained than is acquired in a given

* Deceased.

THE MEDICAL & SURGICAL SAN 1TORIU M.

BATTLE CREEK, MICH.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

29

time in most of our schools and colleges in the land, and that a wise and effec-
tive discipline could be better maintained, and the interests of the youth more
assiduously cared for, than would be done elsewhere.

To meet these demands a private school was in successful operation at Battle
Creek for some years before the establishment of a college was deemed practica-
ble. It was not until the spring of 1872 that the establishment of a college was
proposed by Elder James White. Several meetings of interested citizens were
held in April of the same year. A committee was chosen at one of these meet-
ings to complete the arrangements for the organization of an educational society.

By the action of this committee the sum of fifty-four thousand dollars was
pledged for the disposal of the proposed society. The vigorous effort of this
committee in securing means rendered the organization of a legal society possible ;
hence, at a meeting held March 11, 1874, in the city of Battle Creek, seven
trustees were elected to have the supervision and control of all the affairs of the
society, to hold real estate, to erect suitable buildings, and to establish and manage
a college for instruction in the sciences, the languages, and the Holy Scriptures.
The conditions of the law of the State of Michigan for the " incorporation of
institutions of learning" having been complied with, the trustees purchased in
the city of Battle Creek a beautiful eminence of twelve acres, for sixteen thousand
dollars. Upon the highest point in the centre of this plat, the erection of a
college building was immediately entered upon by the trustees, and in January,
1875, one building was completed and occupied by the students, who numbered
at that time about one hundred.

Grounds. — The grounds surrounding the building are among the finest to be
found in the city of Battle Creek. Their natural beauty has been very greatly
enhanced by the exercise of good taste and the expenditure of much money and
labor in grading, cultivating flowers, making walks, planting hedges, etc. As
many as possible of the native trees were retained, and interspersed among them
are ornamental trees and shrubs from other climes.

At present the campus proper embraces only about seven acres, since tiers of
building-lots have been separated from the west and south sides of the first pur-
chase, of twelve acres, by new streets. Upon seven of these lots, which number
seventeen in all, dwellings have been erected by the trustees for the accommoda-
tion of professors in the college, and also for families who move here for the
express purpose of educating their children.

Buildings. — The most prominent building shown in the engraving represents
the one erected in 1874. It is three stories in height, above a commodious base-
ment. It is heated by steam, which is generated by a furnace in the basement.
The latter is admirably arranged for classes in chemistry and philosophy. The
chemical laboratory and philosophical apparatus are closely connected with the
lecture-room, being separated only by a glass partition. In the third story is a
fine audience-room, thirty-five by seventy-two feet.

In the summer of 1875 the first catalogue of Battle Creek college was issued.
This showed an attendance during the five preceding terms of two hundred and
eighty-nine students. The members of the faculty, as published in that catalogue,
were James White, President ; S. Brownsberger, A.M., Principal, Professor of
Ancient Languages and Physics; Uriah Smith, Lecturer on Biblical Exegesis;
Cr. H. Bell, Professor of English Language and Mathematics ; J. H. Kellogg,
M.D., Professor of Chemistry and Physiology ; Marcus Lichtenstein, Professor
of Hebrew ; Charles Carlstedt, Professor of Swedish Language ; A. B. Oyen,
Professor of Danish Language ; Madame L. Parot, Instructor in French ; Miss
Camilla Haentzsche, Instructor in German ; Nellie N. Wheeler, Instructor in
Common Branches ; Mary A. Davis, Instructor in Common Branches.

Since this issue a professor of the Italian language has been added to the list,
besides some assistants in other departments.

Who admitted. — This school is under the special direction of the Seventh-Day
Adventist Educational Society, and was especially designed for the mental improve-
ment of those men and women who wish to prepare themselves for ministerial and
missionary labor. But while this grand object is being gained, an opportunity is
also offered to Seventh-Day Adventists and all others who wish to improve it to
send their children to a school whose high aim is to secure the best moral and
religious influence, free from the corrupting blight realized at many other schools.
There is nothing in the regular courses of study, or in the rules or practice of
discipline, that is in the least denominational or sectarian. The Biblical lectures
are before those only who attend them from choice.

Special advantages. — Among the prominent excellences of Battle Creek college
are the following :

The high, moral character of the institution is dearer to its founders than
any other consideration, and the trustees pledge their honor to maintain and
strengthen it at all hazards. To effect this, no other interest shall be regarded
too great a sacrifice ; for this they labor and are ever vigilant.

They believe that the moral element is the principal one in education, and that

it has its root in religion, — not in a sectarian view, but in the great fundamentals
of Christian religion, conscientiously adhered to and rigidly governing our lives.

The protection guaranteed students here from base influences that undermine
the character in many institutions of learning, will warrant parents in intrusting
their sons and daughters to the watchful care of the college. Those in charge
feel that the hearts and lives of those they seek to educate are in a peculiar sense
consigned to their trust. They recognize the responsibility thus devolving upon
them. Students are not left to themselves, without care or sympathy, but a per-
sonal interest is taken in each one, and a strong moral and religious influence is
thrown around each member of the school. They realize the necessity of con-
stant vigilance over the character and general deportment of the youth, when all
manner of inducement to idle away their time is forced upon them. A wise and
effective discipline is maintained, not tyrannical or exacting, but firm and parental.

The degree of thoroughness with which youths are taught to perform their
tasks will, in a great measure, determine their success in after-life. We all recog-
nize the fact that the habit of doing work well may become just as firmly and
deeply seated in the character as the habit of carelessness and superficiality.
This is eminently true of the student.

With this fact before them, the instructors make the principle of thoroughness
a leading feature in their labors, and inculcate like principles in the character and
minds of the students. True methods of education are followed. The student
is not allowed to pass with merely a superficial knowledge of subjects, but is
required to master principles, rather than to commit to memory verbal forms.
The officers of instruction have shown, in the results of their class labors, that
" not how much, but how well," has been their motto.

Expenses. — The club boarding system has worked out a problem of great
importance to the college in these hard times. From twenty-five to fifty persons
organize by the choice of proper officers, to be governed by certain rules, in the
establishment of one general eating-house. One of their number makes all the
purchases of the raw material for healthful food, and each member pays a certain
sum per week for cooking and for keeping the house.

When they have enjoyed their meal they return to their rooms, in different
directions, not far from the college building. From one to four students occupy
one room, according to its size. The entire expense of meals and room is not
far from one dollar and twenty-five cents a week; and washing, fuel, lights, and
tuition, and one year's expense to the poor young man at this college, excepting
clothing and books, need not exceed seventy or eighty dollars, and much of this
he can aarn during vacations.

Future prospects. — There is no doubt that the rapid increase in attendance
during the past two years will continue without interruption in the future. This
will necessitate more buildings and enlarged plans on all sides.

There is need at present of another building in close proximity to the first
which will provide a large hall, gymnasium, and society rooms, and , in which a
library, reading-room, and museum could be accommodated.

A medical department is also in contemplation, in which students may receive a
thorough education in anatomy and surgery, physiology and hygiene, hydropathic
appliances, uses of electricity, etc. Applications for such instruction have been
s o numerous during the past year that there would be at present a class of seventy-
five or one hundred qualifying themselves for physicians if they could be accom-
modated.

The foregoing evinces the fact that Battle Creek college is an outgrowth of
necessity rather than a projected enterprise whose success is a matter of experi-
ment. Its founders do not regard it an undertaking that requires a trial of a
few years to decide its final success, but they realize that its nature and aims are
such as to render its immediate and final success inevitable. It is destined to
become an institution of power and very extended usefulness in the land.

The trustees and all friends of the institution take pleasure in their determina-
tion to make this one of the first schools in the State, for mental as well as moral
training ; and no observation, inquiry, or expense shall be spared in seeking to
realize the expectation of its most sanguine patrons and friends.

Further particulars can be had by sending for the annual catalogue.

CHAPTER X.

PROFESSIONAL : THE BAR ; THE PULPIT.

The learned professions have been ably represented in Calhoun County ; more
especially the legal profession, the Calhoun bar being justly ranked, for many
years, as the leading bar of the State. From 1837 to 1852 or 1853, the best

so

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

legal talent found expression before the courts of Calhoun, and whose " local
habitation" was in the limits of the county. The anticipation, which for a long
time filled the minds of the people of the State, that Marshall would eventually
be the capital of the commonwealth, attracted comparatively large numbers of
prominent lawyers to that point, who served to build up a very strong bar, noted
for its ability and erudition thoughout the State. The following is a sketch of
the bar, briefly drawn, but correct in its data, having been obtained principally
from Hon. W. H. Brown, at the present time the Nestor of the Calhoun County
bar.

The first attorney to settle in Calhoun County was Hon. Isaac E. Crary, who
came to Marshall in the summer of 1832, and located, and where he remained
until his death, which event occurred June 13, 1864. He is termed by the
legal fraternity, not inaptly, the Father of the Calhoun bar. In a eulogy pro-
nounced before the circuit court, while in session, by S. H. Preston, a fellow-
member of the bar, himself a prominent lawyer of the State, the speaker said he,
Crary, was unexcelled as an office lawyer, familiar with decisions and laws ; was
always ready with a solution of any difficulty presented to him by his brethren,
and was able to refer at once to the point at issue, and depended more on the
legal aspect of his cases than in any eloquence expended on the jury. He was
born in Preston. Connecticut, and was a graduate of Yale, and came therefrom
to Detroit in the winter of 1830-31, and to Marshall the succeeding winter, living
first in a log house, but afterwards building the first frame house of any preten-
sions in Marshall. He built also the first frame office in that place. His life
was a busy one, politically and professionally. He was a member of the first
constitutional convention, wherein, as has been before stated, he introduced the
article giving the control of the school-lands to the State, and also providing for
the covering of all fines, penalties, and forfeitures into a library fund, and also the
funds arising from military exemptions, and was the author of Article 10 of the
constitution, relative to education, which, to him, is a monument grander than
the triumphal arch of a Caesar, and more enduring than bronze or stone. He
also was instrumental in providing for the vote of all actual residents in the Terri-
tory at the time of the adoption of the constitution, whether foreign born or
otherwise, naturalized or not. He defined the boundaries of the upper peninsula,
thus getting its inexhaustible mineral treasures in exchange for the Territory in
dispute between Ohio and Michigan. As member of Congress, from 1836 to
1840 inclusive, he obtained the establishment of roads and mail facilities, and
served with usefulness his constituency, which was the entire State. He was a
member of the committees on judiciary, public lands, and Indian affairs. After-
wards was speaker of the House of Representatives of Michigan, and introduced
the bill for most liberal exemptions from forced sales on execution, which became
a law. The bar of Calhoun County passed highly eulogistic resolutions on his
death, which were spread upon the records of the court. He was not quite fifty
years of age when he died. His wife, Jane E., died October 2, 1839.

In 1833-34, Cephas A. Smith located in Battle Creek. He was the first pros-
ecuting attorney, and died in 1842. In 1836, several attorneys located* at Marshall,
viz. : Stephen H. Preston, J. Wright Gordon, Prentiss S. Hewitt, James L. San-
ford, G-eorge C. Gibbs, David L. Johns, and W. H. Brown. Mr. Preston was a
native of Oneida county, New York, and still resides in the county, but has
retired from the practice of his profession. He was prosecuting attorney of the
circuit in 1836-38, and was a leading member of the bar for many years. Mr.
Gordon was a native of Connecticut, was elected lieutenant-governor of Michigan
in 1840, and, on the election of Governor Woodward to the United States Senate,
succeeded to the gubernatorial honors for the remainder of the term. He was
also United States consul at Pernambuco, where he died. He was admitted in the
Supreme Court of New York, November 1, 1833. P. S. Hewitt was from Batavia,
New York, and is now deceased. Sanford was from Skaneateles, New York, and
is now an eminent attorney of New York city. Gibbs was prosecuting attorney
in 1838-39, and again later in 1843-45, and is now in California. David L.
Johns was prosecuting attorney in 1840, and for many years master in chancery,
under the appointment of the governor. In 1837 George Woodruff came in from
Buffalo, New York, and located at Marshall, and is still in practice. He was
elected county judge in 1846, and held the position until the court was abolished,
and was subsequently elected to the circuit, and held the position of circuit judge
from 1866 to 1876. This same year or the following one, Abner Pratt came to
Marshall from Rochester, New York, where he had been the prosecuting attorney
of Monroe county. He was circuit judge 1851-57, and was also United States
consul at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands. He was in the State senate 1844-45, and
died while holding the office of mayor of the city of Marshall.

E. Smith Lee came in 1839, and was a prominent attorney for many years, and
subsequently died in Detroit. Henry W. Taylor came in 1839, from Canan-
daigua, New York, and remained in the county for some eight years, when he
returned, and is now the judge of the court of appeals of that State. He was

eminent in his profession, learned, and eloquent. John Van Arman was admitted
to the bar in 1839, upon the recommendation of S. H. Preston, D. L. Johns, and
J. Wright Gordon, P. S. Hewitt granting a certificate of good moral character to
him. He was in practice several years in Marshall, being a partner of W. H.
Brown, Esq., for a time. He is now a member of the Chicago bar, and is consid-
ered one of its most eminent members. Has an extensive practice in the State
and United States courts. W. H. Brown was admitted to the bar of Calhoun
County, May 27, 1840, on the examination and recommendation of L. F. Stevens,

D. Johnson, and E. Smith Lee. He was a member of the Utica bar before he
came to Michigan. He has been for years an eminent lawyer, and is still actively
engaged in the practice of his profession. He has probably tried more cases than
any other member of the Calhoun bar. He is a native of Preston, Connecticut,
and is an able advocate. He was prosecuting attorney, 1855-58. About this
time Edward Bradley came from Bloomfield, New York; an Irishman by birth,
an active, resolute, nervous speaker, more effective on the stump than in the court-
room or office, and hence very popular. He was prosecuting attorney in 1842,
State senator in 1843, and elected to Congress in 1846, but died in New York
city, en route to take his seat, in 1847. In 1840, Thomas P. Church, now of
Grand Rapids, was admitted to the bar. Hon. N. A. Balch, now of Kalamazoo,
was also a member of the Calhoun bar. In 1842, F. W. Shearman was admitted,
but was more distinguished as a journalist than a lawyer. In the former field he
filled an honorable position, which will appear more at large in the history of the
press.

William C. Rowley located at Battle Creek, and was admitted to the bar of
the county in 1842. He was prosecuting attorney in 1846-48. In 1847, B. F.
Graves, of Battle Creek, was admitted. He filled the position of circuit judge
from 1857 to 1866 inclusive, and is now the chief-justice of the supreme bench
of Michigan. Leonidas Dibble, also of Battle Creek, was admitted in 1851. He
still continues his practice, which is a remunerative one, and has gained him an
enviable reputation as a successful and careful advocate. He defended a man
charged with the murder of his own child, at the May term of the circuit court in
1877, procuring his acquittal, the jury being out of the box but a short time.
In 1839, Justus Goodwin was admitted. He was subsequently a member of the
House of Representatives of the State several terms. He resided in Burlington.
John Willard was also admitted in 1839, and died in 1842. A brother of Mr. Wil-
lard, A. Parsons Willard, a student in Marshall, subsequently emigrated to Indiana,
and became the governor of that State. Henry Hewitt was admitted in 1840,
and was elected associate justice of the circuit court the same year, and State
senator in 1842, dying while holding the latter position, in Detroit. M. W.
Hewitt and James A. Way were admitted in 1841. Mr. Hewitt is now practicing
in Batavia. Walter Martin was admitted in 1840. He located at Marshall, as
did the last three named. John A. Van Horn was admitted in 1842. He was
county clerk from 1839 to 1844. He located in Marshall. George F. James
was admitted in 1842, and located in Battle Creek. Haven Powers, of Homer,
Isaiah T. Williams and H. A. Noyes, of Marshall, were admitted in 1843. Mr,
Noyes was afterwards judge of probate twelve years, from 1845 to 1857. He
died at a ripe old age, in April, 1877. George Monro, of Albion, was admitted
in 1844, and so, too, were William H. Gibbs and Morton Wilkinson, of Marshall,

E. L. Stillson of Battle Creek, E. A. Frazer of same place, and F. Fergerson of
Albion. Mr. Frazer is still in practice at Albion. Mr. Wilkinson emigrated to
Minnesota, and served that State six years in the United States Senate, and has
been one term in the House of Representatives, and is a member of the present
House. Chauncey Shaffer was a member of the bar in 1840 and afterwards
and is now of the bar of New York city. B. C. Cook in 1854, J. D. Wooley,
L. H. Stewart, H. C. Hawkins, and James W. Hill, were all admitted in 1855.
Cook located in Marshall, and died in Danville, New York, from whence he came.
Mr. Wooley located in Marshall also, and died there. He wrote up the abstracts
of title of Calhoun County. Mr. Stewart located in Battle Creek, where he is
still in practice. Mr. Hawkins located in Marshall, and afterwards went to Kan-
sas, where he died. Judge T. W. Hall, of Battle Creek, was admitted in 1844.
He was associate judge of the circuit court from 1837 to 1842. He is still a
resident of Battle Creek, and has been for many years one of the county super-
intendents of the poor. James B. Greenough was admitted in 1857, and located
in Marshall. He is now a professor of Harvard college. Lucius G. Noyes was
admitted in 1845, and located in Marshall, and died there in June, 1864. Abner
E. Campbell, of Battle Creek, was admitted in 1847. Thomas G. Pray was
admitted in 1851, and located in Marshall, where he is still engaged in practice.
Myron H. Joy, of Battle Creek, was admitted in 1850. Isaac W. Wilder was
admitted in the same year, and located in Marshall, and is now dead. C. C.
Rood was admitted in 1846, but located at Grand Rapids, where he is now in
practice. In 1858, D. Darwin Hughes, E. F. Tenney, and E. C. Hinsdellwere
admitted. Mr. Hughes was for many years a prominent lawyer of Marshall ;

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

31

he was mayor of the city two years, and is now a resident of Grand Rapids,
where he has built up an extensive and remunerative practice. Mr. Tenney was
celebrated as a journalist. He is now in Lansing. Robert Cross, a lawyer from
Newburyport, Massachusetts, and a partner of Caleb Cushing, was admitted to
the Calhoun bar in 1844, and was a member of the same twelve years, and died
in Massachusetts. Sidney Thomas, now of Chicago, was a member of the Cal-
houn bar about 1860 or after. E. C. Hinsdell is now a member of the Detroit
bar, and a lawyer of some distinction. In 1859, A. M. Culver, E. A. Warner,
and Edward Pomeroy were admitted. Mr. Warner located at Battle Creek for
a short time only, and Culver and Pomeroy in Albion, where Mr. Culver still
practices. W. H. Porter is an attorney of Marshall, and was for many years a
partner of Judge Noyes.

In 1860, Willis Geer and J. Barton were admitted, the former locating in Mar-
shall, where he is still in practice. Barton located in Battle Creek, but in later
years gained more notoriety with a drama, in which he held the leading role,
which he produced for the benefit of the posts of the Grand Army of the Re-
public throughout the country. He is deceased lately. In 1861, Oliver S. Morton,
George W. Bullis, and Edward Crawford were admitted, the two former locating
at Battle Creek. Joseph G. Lodge also was admitted that year, and located at
the same place. He was prosecuting attorney four years, and is now a member of
the bar of St. Louis. . James N. Robinson, Alfred A. White, Francis A. Stace,
T. W. Waring, Perry G. Packer, Philip H. Emerson, Nelson E. Sherman, and
M. Cooper were admitted in 1863. Robinson, Stace, and Waring are now resi-
dents at Marshall ; Sherman at Battle Creek, and Cooper at Albion, and all in
practice. Mr. Emerson located at Battle Creek, but is now United States judge
in Utah. James A. Miner and William D. Adams, now of Marshall, were ad-
mitted in 1864. Mr. Miner was prosecuting attorney from 1871 to 1874. Alvan
Peck, now of Albion, was admitted in 1853.

Charles S. May was prosecuting attorney in 1853-54, and Levant C. Rhines
was in the same position from 1859 to 1862. M. N. Cunningham and John C.
Patterson were admitted in 1865. They both located at Marshall, where Mr.
Patterson is now in practice, in company with Hon. W. H. Brown. Mr. Cun-
ningham is dead. In 1866, Henry H. Brown, Frank G. Holmes, and Levi
Mosher were admitted, the first and last locating at Battle Creek, and the other at
Marshall. Mr. Brown is still in practice, and Mr. Mosher is deceased. He was
county clerk four years. In 1867, W. C. Hamilton, Shubael F. White, Marc A.
Merrifield and Isaac D. McCutcheon were admitted. Mr. Hamilton is now at
Jefferson City, Missouri, Mr. Merrifield at Union City, and Mr. McCutcheon
is the judge of probate of Eaton county. Mr. White located at Battle Creek.
In 1868, Moses B. Russell was admitted, and is now at Battle Creek. He and
William D. Adams were the circuit court commissioners from 1871 to 1876, and
Mr. Adams still holds the office. Mr. Miner was circuit court commissioner
from 1867 to 1870 inclusive. In 1869, Charles B. Pratt and Fitch R. Williams
were admitted. Mr. Pratt is now in Montcalm county, and Mr. Williams located
at Albion. John C. Fitzgerald was admitted before I860, and was prosecuting
attorney in 1863-66. He is now in Marshall. Rienzi Loud, of Albion, was
circuit court commissioner in 1869-70. He is still in practice at Albion. Nathan
H. Briggs and Frederick M. Wadleigh, both at Battle Creek, were admitted in
1870. John C. Stetson (county clerk 1873-76), George Wescott, of Homer,
now dead, and Nelson B. Gardiner, at Albion, were admitted in 1871. James
H. Campbell and William W. Wyckoff, both now at Marshall, were admitted in
1872. William A. Kellogg, at Battle Creek, and Thomas Burke, were admitted
in 1873. Mr. Burke was an Irishman, and located in Marshall, but is now judge
of probate in Washington Territory. He was a sharp lawyer. Dewitt C. Huff-
man, now at Albion, was admitted in 1874, and Clarence S. Joy and Herbert E.
Winsor, of Marshall, and F. W. Boughton, of Battle Creek, were admitted in
1875. Mr. Winsor is one of the circuit court commissioners of the county at
present. Eugene L. Stephenson was admitted in 1876, and is now in Little
Rock, Arkansas. John E. Foley was admitted in 1877, and is now in Marshall.
Frank W. Clapp, the present prosecuting attorney, has held that position since
January 1, 1875. He was admitted some time previously. He is a partner of
Judge Woodruff. Ira E. Randall and G. H. Southworth practice at Marshall,
and Charles E. Thomas at Battle Creek.

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION

in Calhoun County carried its standard as high, for efficiency and skill, as any-
where in the State. Its members were in the main as learned and experienced
in the early history of the county, as anywhere, and many of them were superior
in skill, diagnosis of disease, and discrimination of remedies.

The first physician to locate in the county for the practice of his profession was
Dr. Andrew L. Hays, who came from the State of New Hampshire, and located in
Marshall in 1831, where he resided until his death, which occurred in December,

1864. His widow and son reside in Clinton, Iowa. Dr. Luther W. Hart came to
Marshall in 1832-33, from western New York, and died there in the year 1842.
Dr. James P. Greeves came also to Marshall, and Dr. Joseph Sibley, in 1834 or
1835. On November 11, 1839, the Calhoun County Medical Society was organ-
ized, at which time there were the following physicians resident in the county
present, in addition to those above named : J. H. Montgomery, who came to
Marshall in 1836, from central New York; D. B. Crane, at Albion; Daniel Hud-
son, Edwin D. Bevitt, William Thompson, L. J. Aylesworth, of Marshall; Robert
B. Porter, of Marengo ; Henry Proctor, of Tekonsha ; Vernon Parks, D. Nims,
and E. Allen, of Homer; Albert W. Lathrop, of Marshall; Frederick Wheel ock,
of Albion ; and T. C. Hurd, of Burlington. The officers of the society were
Dr. Hart, president ; Dr. Crane, vice-president ; Dr. J. H. Montgomery, secretary ;
Dr. Thompson, treasurer; Drs. Crane, Montgomery, Bevitt, Sibley, and Greeves,
censors. The censors were sworn to perform their duties faithfully and impar-
tially. Of the above-named physicians but two are now in practice in the county,
— Dr. Montgomery, who still maintains his profession in Marshall, and Dr. Porter,
at Marengo. Of the others, Drs. Sibley, Crane, Hudson, Aylesworth, Proctor,
Parks, Lathrop, and Wheelock are deceased. Dr. Nims practices at Jackson;
Hurd is at Union City ; Gill at Elkhart, Indiana, and Tuttle lives at Albion.
Greeves is in California.

Dr. William M. Campbell located in Battle Creek about March 1, 1837, and
resided there until his death, March 15, 1870. Dr. Edward Cox located at the
same place September 5, 1839, and still continues his practice there. He is an
eminent surgeon and physician. Dr. Matthew Gill, Jr., located in the fall of
1842, removing to Marshall in 1862 or 1863, and from thence to other parts.

Dr. James Taylor came in the winter of 1842-43, and died here in the spring
of 1848. Dr. Asahel Beach located in 1844, and, after a few years' practice,
retired from business, and still resides in the place. Dr. Hazard A. Potter located
in the spring of 1844, and removed from Battle Creek in 1845, and died a few
years ago at Geneva, New York. Dr. S. B. Thayer located in the village in
1846, where he remained two years, and removed to Detroit ; subsequently made
two or more different locations at Battle Creek, where he died in 1874. Dr.
Drake practiced a short time with J)r. Thayer, and removed to Indiana, and thence
to Detroit, and was killed a few years ago by the cars at Ypsilanti. Dr. Artemas
Doane located at Bedford about 1848 or 1849 ; came to Battle Creek about
1853-54, where he practiced till his death, which occurred in the fall of 1866.
Dr. M. W. Tomlinson located about 1854, and still continues his practice. Dr.
James A. Deane located in 1868 or thereabouts, and practiced until 1874-75,
when he removed to Catskill, New York. Dr. Simon L. French came in the fall
of 1847, and is still in practice. Dr. L. A. Foote commenced practice in 1873,
and still continues his practice. All of the above were of the regular school of
medicine, — the allopathic. Dr. Wattles and Dr. Robinson, homoeopathists, and
Dr. Spencer and Dr. John Beath, are among the present medical staff of the
city.

Dr. Samuel Tuttle was born at Molkton, Vermont, August 4, 1798, and re-
moved to Albion in 1841, and attended a course of medical lectures at Ann Arbor
in 1852. Dr. H. B. Teed located at Battle Creek previous to 1845. Dr. E.
Church located at Marshall in 1843, or earlier. Dr. G. W. Force located in
Marshall in 1841, and Dr. Waldo at Albion in 1842-43, and Dr. Maniates in
Marshall about 1844. These last five physicians were of the regular school.
Dr. T. S. Ripley, of the botanic school, located in Marshall in 1845. Dr. O. C.
Comstock located at Marshall in 1836, but engaged in manufacturing and mer-
cantile business rather than the practice of medicine as a profession. Dr. James
A. Hahn located at Marshall in 1845. Dr. Ennis Church is in Mississippi, Dr.
Force in Ohio, Dr. Waldo is dead, and Dr. Maniates, an Italian, also is dead. Dr.
Hahn came from Seneca county, New York, and practiced about fifteen years,
and then removed to Chicago, where he died. He was succeeded in Marshall by
his son, Henry Hahn, who also removed to Chicago, where he has now a lucrative
practice. Dr. Anderson came to Marshall in 1861, and remained three or four
years, and removed to Berrien Springs. Dr. Gibson came about the same time,
and remained a short time, and removed to Jackson. Dr. W. B. Church came in
1860 or thereabouts, and is still in practice. He is of the eclectic school, and
has a very extensive practice. Dr. H. L. Joy came in 1845 or thereabouts, and
is yet in practice. He is the present mayor of the city. Drs. Bagley, older and
younger, homoeopathists, after a short practice removed to Seattle, Washington
Territory, where they still reside. Dr. Sullings was the first homoeopathic physi-
cian to locate in Marshall, and he came in 1852, and is now in Kalamazoo. Dr.
Coon has been twenty years and more in practice in Marshall as a homoeopathist.
Dr. H. A. Peterman has been a resident of Marshall for nearly forty years, and
a practicing eclectic physician for the last twenty years. Dr. Gallup also is an
eclectic, now in practice in Marshall, and Dr. Roberts is a homoeopathist at the
present time in the city. Dr. Enke, a practitioner of the regular school, came in

32

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

1870, but after a short stay removed to Detroit, where he now is. Dr. Collamer
located in South Albion in 1833, and died a year or two afterwards.

The following physicians have u ministered to the ills flesh is heir to," having
their local habitation in Albion, in addition to those before named : Calvin Mil-
lington came from Vermont in 1836 ; H. M. Hovey from New York in' 1838 ;
James Henderson in 1837; Benjamin Packard in 1845, all of whom are now
deceased; also W. H. Johnson in 1850, who removed to Kalamazoo; W. B.
Southard in 1851, who also removed to the last-named city; Milton Osborn, who
came from New York in 1850, Henry Van Ostrand in 1857, and William W.
Collins in 1859, were also from that State; E. H. Wilber, who located in 1861,
was from India, and A. R. Brown from New York, settled in 1867 ; and the
same year John P. Stoddard, a native of Michigan, located here ; M. O. Belknap
located in 1871, and removed subsequently to Lake Superior ; Amos Crosby was
from New York, and located in 1872, and A. M. Haight in 1874 was a native of
Michigan ; E. L. Parmeter settled in 1877, in Albion, being also to the " manor
born ;" Willoughby O'Donoghue was a resident of Albion at the time of the
breaking out of the rebellion, and served with distinction as surgeon of the regi-
ment of engineers and mechanics, from its muster in until its final discharge in
the summer of 1865.

THE CLERICAL PROFESSION.

The most noted preachers in the county among the pioneers were Rev. John
D. Pierce, Congregational, Rev. Mr. Pilcher, Methodist, Rev. John P. Cleveland,
Presbyterian, and president of the Marshall College, and Rev. Mr. Grant, the
projector of the Wesleyan seminary at Albion. . Others are noted, but they are
named in connection with the church history of the townships. The teachers
also are named in connection with the schools in the township and city histories.

CHAPTER XL

THE PRESS: PATRIOT AND EXPOUNDER; STATESMAN; JOURNAL; TRIBUNE;
mirror; recorder; INDEX; ADVENT REVIEW AND PUBLICATIONS.

" The pen is mightier than the sword." The history of the press of Calhoun
County is not an uninteresting one, and could we reproduce on our pages one of
the first newspapers of the county in contrast with those published forty years
afterwards therein, there would be no need of spectacles to note the progress in
this department of our work. A community of New England and New York
Yankees could not long exist without their own newspaper, and, therefore, before
the infant colony was well out of its swathings the printing-press was set up and
the editorial tripod established. The first newspaper to fling its banner to the
breeze rejoiced in ths patriotic cognomen of the Calhoun County Patriot and
Democratic Expounder, the first number of which was issued October 2, 1836,
with Henry C. Bunce as editor. It was published by a stock company, which was
organized during the summer and early fall of 1836, Mr. Bunce, however, being
the prime mover in the enterprise, and finally buying up the stock and becoming
sole proprietor in 1840. It was a sheet of twenty-four by thirty-six inches, and
in politics was then, as it is now, Democratic. In 1844 the name was changed
to the Democratic Expounder and Calhoun County Patriot, Mr. Bunce con-
tinuing to publish it until 1850, when Jabez Fox was associated with Chastain
Mann in the proprietorship for a short time, he retiring the same year to give
place to L. G. Noyes, who became the editor and part owner of the paper, in
which connection he continued until his death, which occurred in June, 1864, at
which time Mr. Mann became sole proprietor, and so remained until 1873, when
the paper passed under the control of S. S. Lacey, who subsequently leased the
office to Z. H. Denison, the present publisher, and who has been connected with
the office for the past nine years. Mr. Lacey still retains control of its editorial
columns. Hon. F. W. Shearman was for many years the editor of the Expounder,
and its corps of contributors included Rev. John D. Pierce, Hon. Isaac E. Crary'
S. H. Preston, Esq., Hon. Abner Pratt, Hon. D. Darwin Hughes, and others
equally eminent in letters and politics. Under Mr. Lacey the Expounder be-
came more particularly the organ of the Liberal Republican party, supporting
Mr. Greeley and the Liberal Democratic policy. The editorial department hat
suffered no diminution in point of ability and interest under his management, and
the paper possesses a well-merited influence with the party whose policy it advo-
cates. Connected with the Expounder is a first-class job-office, under the direct
management and control of Mr. Denison, where all work from a fine visiting card
to a mammoth poster can be turned out in good shape and with dispatch. Mr.

Shearman's " Sketches of Public Men," which appeared in 1838, in the columns
of the Patriot, while he was a reporter in the National House of Representatives,
were intensely interesting.

Mr. Shearman was born June 20, 1817, at Vernon, Oneida county, New York,
and died at Marshall, December 7, 1874. In 1841 he assumed the editorial
control of the Michigan Journal of Education, and in 1849 was appointed super-
intendent of public instruction by Governor Ransom, and on the office becoming
elective in 1851 was chosen by the people of the State for two consecutive terms,
thus holding the position for six years continuously. His annual report of 1852
was a masterly production, and set forth clear and comprehensive views of the
requirements of general education. This paper was extensively called for by other
States, and quoted as authority on educational matters generally. As a writer he
was " polished, forcible, independent, and aggressive."

About the same time the Patriot appeared, another candidate for the favor and
patronage of the then dominant party came into the field, under the name of The
Marshall Times, John Greeves being the founder of the same ; but the field having
been fully occupied and held by the Patriot, after a brief existence of six months
the fledgeling expired. The material was purchased by David L. Johns, a promi-
nent lawyer, and others of the county, and under Mr. Johns a new paper, advo-
cating the policy of the Whig party, was established under the name of The
Marshall Republican, the first number appearing about October 1, 1837. Mr.
Johns conducted his sheet through the campaign of 1838, when it ceased its
issues. On the 12th day of September, 1839, Seth Lewis, having purchased the
material of the Republican, issued the Western Statesman, as the organ of the
Whig party of the county. This name continued to adorn its title-page until
October 12, 1844, when it was changed to its present one,— The Marshall States-
man. The founder of the Statesman, Mr. Lewis, continued to publish it with-
out intermission until January 1, 1866, when he disposed of his interest in the
same to Messrs. Bissell & Burgess, who continued its publication for three years,
when Wm. R. Lewis, a son of the founder of the paper, succeeded Bissell, the
publication being continued by the latter firm until April 1, 1872, when Mr.
Seth Lewis again assumed control of the office, and managed it until January 23,
1873, at which time the present editor and proprietor, Morgan Bates, Esq., suc-
ceeded to the management and control of the office and publication. Under Mr.
Lewis' first management J. O. Balch, William Cook, and E. A. Tenney, Esq.,
conducted its editorial columns at different times, Mr. Balch being its editor
during its earlier history, and Mr. Tenney in the latter part of the time,— between
1857 and 1865. During the fierce political campaigns of 1840 and 1844, Mr.
Balch's editorial utterances were of the most vigorous Saxon. He was unsparing
in his denunciation of the opposite party and its policy, and not always choice of
his terms when speaking of candidates. In fact, the Expounder and the Statesman
to use a phrase more expressive than elegant, made things extremely lively for
each other during their entire earlier career. Mr. Tenney, now of Lansing, con-
tributed a series of humorous backwoods articles to the Statesman under the
nom de plume of " Peleg Olepod," which, it is said, D. R. Locke acknowledges
to have given him his first idea of his " Nasby" letters. Mr. Tenney was also a
vigorous political writer. Under the management of Mr. Bates the Statesman
has steadily increased its circulation, patronage, and influence, and has become one
of the foremost Republican papers in the interior of the State. It is independent,
outspoken, fearless, and radical in its advocacy of its political principles and of
public policy. Aggressive it has ever been, and not an inch of ground has been
lost by Mr. Bates in that particular. Its columns are ably conducted, its locals
spicily written, and its mechanical appearance is crisp, fresh, and neat. It can
boast, what few papers in the State can, that since its first issue, September 12
1839, to the present time, it has never missed an issue on the advertised date of
publication ; and since Mr. Bates' control it has, with but a single exception,—
and that the occasion of the Hayes-Tilden election returns, — never been delayed
an hour in reaching the hands of its city subscribers beyond its usual hour of
publication. Promptness and regularity have been, and are, the " essence of the
contract" with the Statesman, and its publisher is now reaping the just reward
of that policy. It is the leading Republican paper of the county, and has a cir-
culation of about one thousand copies per week. The Statesman, under Mr.
Bates, has accomplished several reforms in the management of city affairs, and
has been quick to detect and condemn errors, social and political, in city and State.
While it is firmly Republican, the Statesman is boldly independent. Since Mr.
Bates' accession he has added a new jobbing press and entirely changed the
material of the office, and can turn out all classes of fine job and book work, of
any size or quality, required of an interior printing-office.

The Journal of Education was published in Marshall in 1838-40. Francis
W. Shearman edited the publication, which was distributed generally throughout
the State, and was an able advocate of the common and higher school system of
Michigan. John D. Pierce, Isaac E. Crary, John Norvell, H. R. Schoolcraft,

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

33

and others were contributors thereto. The Michigan Temperance Advocate was
published for a time in Marshall, in 1841, at the Statesman office, under the
charge of Dr. Comstock.

The Family Journal, published in Marshall, in 1870-71, was an eight-page
monthly, twenty-eight by forty inches, by M. V. Wagner, editor and proprietor,
the first number appearing in May, 1870. It was a literary publication, and was
sold to S. S. Woods, publisher of the Household Magazine, of Newburg, New
York, with which the Journal was incorporated. The peculiar feature of its
history was heavy issues for the first two or three numbers, — some fifty thousand
copies.

The Marshall Transcript was issued a few weeks only, by J. 0. Balch, in the
early part of 1846.

The Michigan Tribune, — The present editor and part proprietor of the Tribune,
Mr. W. W. Woolnough, has been so intimately connected with the history of the
press of Battle Creek that we find some difficulty in identifying any particular
publication separately. We find, however, that the first step towards the estab-
lishment of a newspaper in Battle Creek was taken in 1845, at which time the
citizens subscribed a sum sufficient to guarantee the successful commencement of
a paper at least. Under these circumstances, Leonard Stillson was delegated to
purchase a press, type, and the usual concomitants of a respectable newspaper
office. For this purpose he proceeded to Rochester, New York, and while pro-
curing his outfit he came across a young man, by name Walter W. Woolnough,
who was a journeyman printer, whom he induced to return to Battle Creek to take
charge of the mechanical department of the new paper. In July, 1845, all the
necessary preparations had been completed, and the first issue of The Western
Citizen and Battle Creek Champion greeted the expectant citizens. After run-
ning about a year, the name and politics were changed, and in August, 1846, the
first number of the Michigan Tribune appeared in its stead, with the names of
W. W. Woolnough and E. Dougherty imprinted thereon as editors and proprietors.
The Tribune came out as a Whig sheet, and ably defended the doctrines of that
party. Owing to a lukewarmness in its support, it ceased to exist in February,
1848.

During the summer of that year, the Signal of Liberty, the organ of the lib-
erty or abolition party of Michigan, which had been published at Ann Arbor,
but had been obliged to suspend publication for want of sufficient support, was
revived at Battle Creek, Messrs. Woolnough & Dougherty contracting to print
it, using their then idle press and materials for that purpose. Soon afterwards
the party managers purchased the material of these gentlemen, and retained Eras-
tus Hussey as editor. Within a short period the Eagle block, in which the office
was located, was destroyed by fire, with its contents, and Battle Creek was without
a paper until October, 1851, when the Journal was established, of which more
hereafter. In 1864, Messrs. Pease & Lewis established the Constitutional
Union, and continued its publication two years, when it passed to the manage-
ment of Mr. Abner Hitchcock. Within a few months it succumbed to the lack
of patronage and ceased to exist. Upon its remains, in August, 1870, arose the
Michigan Tribune, C. N. Pease and Lyman Reade proprietors. In January,
1871, Wm. H. Bodine purchased Mr. Reade's interest, and on the 19th of June
following Mr. Woolnough succeeded Mr. Pease as a partner in the concern. The
latter gentleman now edits the Tribune, and with his practical experience and
abilities as a journalist the paper cannot fail to sustain the prominent position it
has assumed and remain one of the cherished institutions of the city. When the
change occurred in proprietorship the politics of the journal were also changed
from Democratic to Republican. In 1872, Mr. Woolnough supported Horace
Greeley for the presidency, and became convinced of the necessity of a change
in the general political aspect of the country, and so adhered to the principles ad-
vocated by the liberal or independent movement. In 1876, he and his paper
rallied to the support of Samuel J. Tilden, and the Tribune now ranks among the
advocates of Democracy. The Tribune now has a bona fide circulation of eight
hundred, which is still increasing. It is an ably-edited thirty-six-column weekly
newspaper, and one which deserves the patronage of the people residing within
the range of its usefulness.

Mr. Woolnough has represented the city and county in the State legislature,
and has held important offices in the city government for many years ; for nine
years he has been a member of the school board, of which body he is now presi-
dent ; all of which positions he has filled with eminent satisfaction to his constit-
uents, and with personal credit. Messrs. Woolnough & Bodine also conduct a
well-supplied job printing-office, and have the reputation of turning out excellent
work of every description.

The Battle Creek Journal. — The weekly edition of the Journal was established

in October, 1851, as a Whig newspaper, by Gantt & Burton, and in February of

the following year it was purchased by W. W. Woolnough, by whom it was ably

conducted for about eleven years. In 1863 it was purchased by Charles E.

5

Griffith, and continued by him until November, 1867. During the latter year
the office passed into the possession of George Willard, its present proprietor. In
August, 1868, Wm. C. D. Brewer was admitted as a partner, and continued as
such until November, 1873, when he retired from the partnership, but still retains
a connection with the office, as its business manager. Since the latter date Mr.
Willard has been sole proprietor. On the 2d of July, 1872, after adding new
type, presses, etc., the first issue of the Daily Journal, a neat and well-edited
newspaper, appeared, and has since been continuously published as an afternoon
daily. This year Mr. Willard was elected to Congress, and again re-elected in
1874. During his absence in Washington, the editorial management of the paper
devolved upon Mr. George W. Harris, a writer of ability and a well-known jour-
nalist. Since his return from Washington Mr. Willard has again taken full edi-
torial charge of the paper.

The Journal is Republican in politics and devoted to the advancement of all
local interests. Typographically, it is neat in its appearance, while its editorial
and general news departments are characterized by experienced journalistic ability.
The weekly edition now has a circulation of twelve hundred and fifty, and the
daily three hundred. In connection with the office is quite an extensive job
printing establishment, which, in its various appointments, is unsurpassed by any
similar establishment in the county.

Mr. Willard is a gentleman well and favorably known, not only in Battle Creek,
but also throughout the country. He has been a member of the State board of
education, a regent of the State University, was a member of the legislature in
1867, and of the constitutional convention the same year. From 1872 to 1876
he represented his district in Congress, to the general satisfaction of his constit-
uents, and with distinguished ability.

The Jeffersonian. — In 1857 a Democratic paper, called the Jeffersonian, was
established by Wm. S. Pease, who soon after received the appointment of post-
master, in Battle Creek, under Buchanan. The paper then passed into the hands
of John C. Gentzler, by whom it was conducted until 1860, and then discon-
tinued.

About the year 1862, Dr. Nathaniel Potter started the Albion Review and
Battle Creek City News, at this place, which had a very brief existence.

In 1863, The Republican was started by Y. T. Hull, which had a very brief
existence.

The Albion Press was established in December, 1849, the first number appearing
on the 28th of that month. James Hugh Perry was the publisher, but it had a
few months' lease of life only.

The Albion Weekly Mirror was founded October 11, 1855, by L. W. Cole^ who
still continues its publication. It was at first neutral in politics, but could not
long remain so under so vigorous a thinker as its editor and proprietor, and conse-
quently, shortly after its first issue, it espoused the Democratic policy, and has sup-
ported the same to the present boldly and fearlessly. It is a seven-column sheet,
twenty-four by thirty- six inches, and has a circulation of about seven hundred
copies weekly. Frank F. Cole manages the mechanical part of the publication,
and an extensive job office connected therewith. The typography of the Mirror
is good, and it is an ably-edited weekly family paper.

The Albion Recorder was established by R. B. Bissell and F. H. Burgess, the
first number being issued May 28, 1868 ; William C. Harrison, editor and pub-
lisher, as lessee of the office. January 1, 1869, Mr. Bissell purchased Mr. Burgess'
interest, and in May following William G. Reed became a partner, adding the
material of the Parma News, which paper he had previously published at Parma,
and the Recorder was published two years by the new firm. On the 1st of
May, 1871, Mr. Bissell purchased the interest of his partner Reed, and conducted
the paper alone until May 1, 1872, when John M. Sargent became a partner,
Bissell continuing to edit the paper ; but August 30 of the same year Mr. John
A. Cresswell, then a student in Albion college, was associated editorially with Mr.
Bissell. On March 29, 1873, Mr. Sargent became sole publisher, retaining Mr.
Cresswell as editor, but on September following Sargent retired, and Mr. Bissell
re-entered as editor and publisher. In May, 1874, the office was leased to John
M. Hall, H. E. Gemberling, and Stacy P. Thompson, but at the end of three
months Gemberling left the firm, having purchased the Elk Rapids Progress, and
Bissell took his place in the firm. May 11, 1875, C. H. Hoag became a partner
with Bissell, but the partnership was dissolved August 11 following, since which
time Mr. Bissell has conducted the paper alone. It has always been a Republican
sheet, and has had its full share of influence and patronage in the county. Its
present circulation is about seven hundred copies per week.

The Homer Index was founded in 1872, by J. H. Wickwin & Co., publishers,
the first number being issued on Christmas. It was of the same size as now, four
pages, twenty-eight columns. Wickwin was at that time known as the veteran
local newspaper founder of Michigan, and few of the citizens of Homer thought
that the Index would continue to print through the first volume ; but, though it did

34

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

meet with many reverses during the first year, it finished its initial volume, and
was purchased by Lane & Burt in December, 1873, and in October following Burt
withdrew, W. A. Lane, the senior member of the firm, continuing the publication
alone to January, 1877, when he associated with him 0. W. Mumbrue, by whom
it is now published under the firm-name of Lane & Mumbrue, publishers, W. A.
Lane, editor. The Index has from the first been neutral in politics, and has a
fair support from a good line of advertising patronage, having a circulation of
some five hundred copies weekly. There is a good job office connected with the
paper, the press-rooms and office being on the second floor of one of the finest
brick buildings in the village, the same being owned by the publishers. The
paper is a spicy home sheet, full of local happenings and general news, and adds
much to the interest of the village.

THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION.
The history of the rise and progress of the publishing work among the Seventh-
day Adventists, from its feeble commencement to its present state of prosperity
and independence, is intimately connected with the history of the Seventh-day
Adventists as a people. The press is the great voice of which this people made
early use in speaking to the world upon the great truths of the Holy Scriptures ;
and as their numbers and influence have steadily increased, the publishing work,
receiving their hearty support, has come up with them. The success of the pub-
lishing work of the Seventh-day Adventists, so far as human mind is concerned,
is due mainly to the management of its founder, Elder James White, who is now
president of their leading organizations, — namely, the general conference, the
Seventh-day Adventist publishing association, the health reform institute, and the
general tract and missionary society. He is also president of the Battle Creek
college, a history of which appears on other pages of this book.

Elder James White was born in Palmyra, Maine, in 1821. Commencing at
the age of twenty, he labored with much success as a public speaker in the great
advent movement of 1840—44, and when the claims of the Sabbath were brought
to his notice, he entered as heartily into the work of its defense and promulgation.
In November, 1850, he commenced the publication of the Advent Review and
Sabbath Herald. Speaking of those times, in his " Life Incidents," Elder White
says, " Those were days of poverty, deprivation, toil, and anguish of spirit. With
feeble health, we traveled from town to town and from State to State preaching
the word and holding conferences, and at the same time issuing the Review
once in two or three weeks." When the first edition was ready to mail, the pub-
lisher and a few devoted friends knelt around the little bundle and offered* fervent
prayer to God that his blessing might attend the efforts they were making for the
promulgation of truth. The whole edition was then taken to the post-office in a
carpet-bag.

To accommodate his publishing work to the field of his operations as a traveling
evangelist, the paper was first issued at Paris, Maine, till June, 1851 ; then at
Saratoga Springs, New York, till March, 1852. It was then removed to Rochester,
New York, where it continued nearly four years. Then the cause of Sabbath
reform rapidly advancing westward, its present location, Battle Creek, Michigan,
was selected as a more central position, and the paper was moved to this place in
November, 1855. Up to this time Elder White was publisher and sole editor.
Some of the time since then others have been associated with him on the editorial
staff.

The wants of the cause demanding an- enlargement of operations and the em-
ployment of more capital in the publishing business, an act of the legislature of
Michigan for the incorporation of associations for publishing purposes was secured,
and approved March 7, 1861. Under that act a legally incorporated association,
under the name of The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, was or-
ganized in Battle Creek, May 3, 1861. The association immediately erected a
two-story brick building in the form of a Greek cross, the main portion twenty-six
by sixty-six feet, the transverse section twenty-six by forty-four feet, for the pub-
lishing work. Previous to this the work had all been done in a wooden building,
twenty-two by thirty feet, which stands a few rods in the rear of the present offices.
In 1871 a second building of the same size and form was erected to meet the
necessities of the increasing business ; and in 1873 a third building of the same
kind was built for the same reason. These all stand side by side, opposite the
public square, at the corner of Main and Washington streets, as represented in
the engraving.

The first one erected is the central building, the second stands at the right, and
the third at the left. In the middle building two large and two small printing-
presses are kept in almost constant use, turning out sheets for six periodicals,
books, pamphlets, and tracts almost without number, besides doing a large amount
of first-class job work. The periodicals issued by the association, the titles of
which are given below, have a monthly circulation of about forty thousand
copies : •

The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, weekly ; Youths Instructor, monthly ;
Health Reformer, monthly ; Battle Greek College, quarterly ; Advent Tidende,
Danish, monthly ; Advent Harold, Swedish, monthly.

The " Health Almanac" is also published regularly. Of this there was printed
for 1877 an edition of over twelve tons' weight. Books on the prophecies and
other Bible subjects have been issued largely from the beginning, and have now
reached an aggregate of about one hundred million pages. The catalogue of pub-
lications issued at this office embraces one hundred and twenty-five different works
in English, thirteen in French, twenty-one in Danish, fifteen in Swedish, thirteen
in German, and one in the Dutch language.

The folding-room and bindery are in the building at the left. The finished
works are stored in the building at the right, whence they are shipped by freight,
express, and mail to all parts of the world. In this building is the counting-room.
The association employs from forty to seventy hands.

These results, wrought out in so short a time, are the only compliment that
need be paid to him under whose management this degree of prosperity has been
attained. Those acquainted with Elder White have observed two very strongly
developed traits of character : zeal to push forward in the formation and execution
of plans for the advancement of the work, and caution to avoid injudicious ven-
tures. The union of these two qualities, regulating at once the amount of steam
and the application of the brakes, has made him master of the situation in the
publishing line, and has given to the enterprise, though moving forward rapidly,
a healthy and permanent growth.

In June, 1874, Elder White commenced in Oakland, California, the publication
of the Signs of the Times, a weekly paper the same size as the Review and Herald.
Through his foresight and energy a branch office is now firmly established in that
beautiful city, with a capital of $40,000, and a rapidly increasing business. Be-
sides publishing largely of denominational books, and issuing an edition of seven
thousand of the Signs of the Times weekly, that office takes the lead in the city
job printing, and is acknowledged by California publishers to be the model on the
Pacific coast for neatness of arrangement, and for the correctness, good taste, and
dispatch exhibited in the execution of its work.

Thus has Elder White, by his indomitable perseverance, able financiering,
stern integrity, and the blessing of God, spanned the American continent, from
Maine to California, with the publishing work, commencing twenty-seven years
ago in poverty. And this is not all. Not content with binding the Pacific to the
Atlantic, ever acting upon the motto, " Broad plans," he has carried the work
across the ocean, and put in successful operation another branch office at Basel, in
old Switzerland, from which a monthly paper in the French language, Les Signes
des Temps, has been issued since July, 1876. A third branch office will probably
be established in one of the Atlantic States during this present year of 1877.

CHAPTER XII.

SOCIETIES : AGRICULTURAL, REFORMATORY, EDUCATIONAL, POLITICAL, PRO-
TECTIVE, SECRET, HISTORICAL, HEALTH REFORM.

As the proverb hath it, " In the multitude of counsel there is wisdom," and
men began early to associate themselves in companies or societies for the furtherance
of objects beyond the compass of individual effort. Men are dependent one upon
another for advancement and progress, and it is a wise man who takes up the thread
of experience where it has been dropped by his predecessor, content to go on with
it, nor waste time in retracing the same deeply-worn paths that have for ages re-
ceived the foot-prints of scholars and laborers alike. The pioneers of Calhoun
were no exception to the general rule, but soon gathered together in societies for
the common good, each one giving his, or her, modicum of experience to swell
the aggregate, from which generalizations might be drawn for the advancement of
the community, mentally, physically, socially, and financially. The first association
of general interest in the county was

THE CALHOUN COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY,

which was organized in the year 1838, and the first fair was held November 5,
1839, in the store previously occupied by Fitch & Gilbert, and the inclosure of
Dr. Hart. J. S. Fitch, H. J. Phelps, and Charles D. Smith were the committee
of arrangements for the fair, and Thomas W. Wells was the secretary. The ex-
ecutive committee of 1839 appointed a series of lectures to be delivered throughout
the county on agriculture, and to create an interest among the farmers for im-
provement in the science. At the fair of 1840 there were one hundred and five

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

35

dollars offered for premiums ; ten dollars on manufactures, forty-five dollars on
stock, and fifty dollars on produce. At this fair Calvin Cole received the first
premium on the best bull, Harvey Smith for the best heifer, Samuel Hemenway
for the best boar and sow, Gilbert Knapp for the best buck, A. B. Hutchins for
the best corn, the same being sixty-six bushels per acre ; Joseph Otis for the best
wheat, thirty-five bushels per acre ; and on barley also, fifty-one bushels per acre ;
R. Weaver on flaxseed, eight bushels six quarts per acre ; and Medad Bardwell
on rutabagas, eight hundred and seventy-seven bushels per acre. The society was
reorganized in 1848, and incorporated June 22, 1858, with the following officers:
S. P. Wormley, president ; E. H. Lawrence, secretary ; C. P. Dibble, treasurer ;
E. C. Manchester, Jeremiah Brown, John Houston, Milo Soule, and Charles D.
Holmes, directors. The society has held twenty-eight annual exhibitions, besides
several spring exhibitions, plowing-matches, and sheep-shearing festivals. Since
1860 the society has paid in cash premiums $12,700, besides other awards in
plate. At the fair of 1876 there were awarded premiums as follows : on horses,
three hundred and fifty-three dollars ; cattle, ninety-nine dollars ; sheep, seventy-
two dollars ; swine, thirty-four dollars ; poultry, eighteen dollars and fifty cents ;
fruit, thirty-four dollars and fifty cents ; vegetables, nineteen dollars and fifty cents ;
grain, sixteen dollars and fifty cents ; farming implements, nineteen dollars and
fifty cents ; wagons and carriages, thirty-seven dollars ; domestic manufactures,
eighty-five dollars ; fine arts, twenty dollars ; flowers, seventy-eight dollars ; bread
and butter, seventeen dollars. There were one hundred and seventy-one entries
of horses, fifty-six of cattle, fifty-three of sheep, twenty-four of swine, twenty-nine-
of poultry, and eight hundred and seventy-seven miscellaneous ; total entries,
eleven hundred and ninety.

The officers of 1877 are as follows : George R. McKay, Eckford, president ;
C. S. Hamilton, Marshall, secretary; Julius A. Davis, treasurer; Lafayette
Harris, William Hewitt, James F. Downs, George W. Briggs, Robert Gould, and
S. G. Pattison executive committee, with a vice-president in every township and
city.

THE CALHOUN COUNTY TEMPERANCE SOCIETY

was organized in the year 1839, and held its first annual meeting January 1, 1840,
in Marshall. J. S. Fitch was the first president and James M. Parsons the first
secretary. The society organized township societies throughout the county, John
Yan Arman, then a young man, being one of the chief speakers, and making
addresses, one notable one in Homer, in December, 1839. Mr. Dibble, Charles
T. Gorham, and Rev. J. P. Cleveland were prominent members of the society ;
the latter being the president of the State Association for some time. This or-
ganization remained intact for many years. The Washingtonians arose in 1842,
and carried " everybody before them," as it were, but died out, the Sons of Tem-
perance coming in 1847, and the Good Templars in 1856. The Red Ribbon
Reform Clubs commenced their work in the spring of 1877.

At the temperance anniversary at Ann Arbor in 1843, Rev. J. P. Cleveland, as
the president, read a song which was afterwards sung to the tune of " Auld Lang
Syne," the fourth verse of which " brought down the house" not only by reason
of the matter thereof, but by the peculiarly felicitous rendering of the same by
the reverend gentleman. This verse was as follows :

"I've seen the bells of tulips turn

To drink the drops that fell
From summer clouds ; then why should not

The two lips of a belle ?
What sweetens more than water pure,

The two lips of a belle ?'"

THE CALHOUN COUNTY BIBLE SOCIETY

was organized about as soon as there were churches, for the notices of its annual
meetings appear in the earliest papers published in the county. The last annual
meeting of the society was held on the first Sunday in October, 1876, at which
the annual report was read, showing 2554 families visited during the year, 123
of whom were found destitute of the Scriptures, and 110 were supplied. The
collections and donations for the year amounted to $205.60, of which $116.72
were paid to the American Bible Society. The value of books on hand during
the year was $482.57. George Ingersoll is the president, and J. M. Parsons
corresponding secretary, the current year.

THE CALHOUN EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY

was organized in January, 1846, George Woodruff secretary. It was auxiliary
to the State Educational Society, and its objects were for the advancement of the
cause of education among the people, and the perfecting of the system of instruc-
tion. At the annual meeting, October 16, 1846, Mr. May hew, the State superin-
tendent of public instruction, lectured on union schools and their advantages, and
the agitation began then culminated, the year following, in the union school of

Marshall. This society also organized teachers' institutes in the county, and was
instrumental in many good works in the cause of common schools during its
existence.

THE ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY

was organized in 1839, the first annual meeting of the same being held in Albion.
Sidney Ketchum was the first president ; Dr. James P. Greeves, first vice-presi-
dent ; and thirty members signed the constitution at the first meeting, among
them being Colonel Peter Holmes, George S. Wright, and Rev. J. P. Cleveland.
The latter was elected president of the State society in 1840. Dr. Greeves was
the second president of the county society. It continued to flourish until after
1848, and finally disappeared when the Republican party was organized, its mission
being accomplished.

THE CALHOUN COUNTY VIGILANT SOCIETY,

for the detection of horse- thieves, was organized February 11, 1840 ; Philo Dibble,
president; General A. L. Hays, vice-president; C. P. Dibble, secretary; C. T.
Gorham, treasurer ; with an executive committee of five, and twelve riders. This
society operated for a few years, and then ceased to exist.

THE FARMERS' ASSOCIATION

was organized in 1841, to combine, for the sale of produce, the farmers of the
county. Oshea Wilder was the first secretary, and the association was in opera-
tion but a few years.

THE MARSHALL MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY

was organized under a special charter in May, 1840 ; Thomas W. Wells, president ;
Philo Dibble, vice-president ; J. C. Frink, secretary ; C. T. Gorham, treasurer ;
Jarvis Hurd, general agent ; and thirteen directors. It had an extensive line of
underwriting for many years, but finally reached out too far, and a succession of
disasters bankrupted the association, and its affairs were wound up by a receiver.

THE FARMER'S MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY OF CALHOUN

was organized April 7, 1862, the first annual meeting being held June 26, 1862,
and the first officers being as follows : Hector Adams, of Battle Creek, president ;
George W. Dryer, of Marengo, vice-president ; Henry J. Champion, of Battle
Creek, secretary ; Caleb Hanchett, of Marengo, director ; Daniel M. Fox, of
Fredonia, collector. The present capital, on which the assessments of losses are
made, amounts to the sum of $6,116,785. The total losses paid since the organiza-
tion amount to $62,629.05 ; the assessment for the fifteen years having been but
one and three-quarters per cent, of the capital stock. The number of members
is two thousand three hundred and thirty-two. Its risks are confined, by its
charter, to farm property. The present officers are Loomis Hutchinson, of
Emmett, president; Milo Soule, of Marengo, director; B. F. Withee, of Ma-
rengo, secretary ; Joseph Shipp, of Eckford, vice-president.

ABSTRACTS OF TITLE

to the lands and village and city lots in Calhoun County were written up by
Joseph A. Holland, Joseph C. Frink, and J. D. Wooley, who remained in the
ownership thereof about three years, Holland being the active man. He sold
his interest to his partners, and subsequently Wooley sold out to Frink, who died,
and the books were sold in 1873-74, Preston Mitchell becoming the purchaser,
and who now owns them and issues abstracts, and keeps the same written up.
Every tract of land and village or city lot is recorded on the books, in its various
changes in fee, or for security, by tax sale or judgment of court ; and the abstracts
of Mr. Mitchell are a most valuable convenience to the people in their real-estate
transactions. The office is maintained at Marshall.

MASONIC SOCIETIES.

The first lodge of Free Masons in the county was instituted at Battle Creek,
in 1846-47 ; the second was instituted at Marshall, under the name of " Marshall
Lodge, No. 20," in 1847-48, Dr. Joseph Sibley being the first Worshipful Master,
and the other charter members being F. Karstaldt, Zenas Tillotson, Ira Tillotson,
Thomas Cook, David Aldridge, Robert Smith, Dr. Hudson, George Ketchum, and
Mr. Gillis. Only two of the foregoing are members of the lodge to-day, — Kar-
staldt and Aldridge. Dr. Sibley held the position of Master for several years,
and Thomas Cook and James Crocker were his successors. In 1855, the charter
of the lodge was surrendered and a new lodge called St. Albans, with the same
number (20), instituted, the history of which will appear in the history of the
city of Marshall. There are now nine blue lodges, two chapters of Royal Arch
Masons, one council of Royal and Select Masters, and one commandery of Knights
Templar, in the county. *

36

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS.

The first lodge of this order instituted in the county was Peninsula Lodge,
No. 5, at Marshall, August 19, 1844, with James Wright Gordon first Noble
Grand, E. C. Noble Vice Grand, Benjamin Yernor Secretary, and John B.
Frink Treasurer. Mr. Chamberlain, A. 0. Hyde, and George Cogswell were
the first initiates. There are now seven lodges and three encampments in the
county.

THE PIONEER SOCIETY

of Calhoun County was organized as such January 26, 1872, but for two years
previously the old pioneers had assembled on the same day, January 26, the
anniversary of the admission of Michigan into the Union, for social purposes and
to recall the fast-receding past. Their first gathering was on the evening of Jan-
uary 26, 1870, at the Herndon House, in the city of Marshall, at which time
there were forty pioneers of Calhoun County present. W. R. McCall, a pioneer
of 1833, was called to the chair, and George S. Wright, who came to Marshall in
1 835, was appointed secretary. At the reunion in 1871, at the same place, there
were twenty-seven present; Thomas Chisholm, a pioneer of 1831, and now de-
ceased, being chosen chairman, and A. 0. Hyde, an emigrant of 1840, and in the
same business — drugs and medicines — to-day as then, was chosen secretary. At
the reunion of 1872, there were sixty-six pioneers present, and the society was
formally organized with Dr. O. C. Comstock (1836), of Fredonia, president, Daniel
Dunakin of Eckford, S. G. Pattison of Marengo, Ranodyne Sheed of Tekonsha,
F. A. Kingsbury of Marshall city (1835), vice-presidents, and H. E. Phelps, of
the latter city, secretary. Dr. J. H. Montgomery (1836), Dr. 0. C. Comstock,
and Rev. Calvin Clark were appointed a committee on history, and directed to
gather such data of the early settlement of the county as was possible, and report
at the next meeting. The reunion of 1873 was held in the parlors of the Hern-
don, one hundred and fifty pioneers being present. Dr. Comstock and H. E.
Phelps were re-elected to their respective positions, and the legislature was memo-
rialized to provide for a documentary history of the State, and biographies of
the prominent educational, commercial, and social pioneers. A basket picnic was
arranged for and held on the fair grounds at Marshall, June 25, 1873, at which
five hundred persons were present, and addresses were made by several of the old
pioneers, many of whom had come long distances to be present. A committee
was appointed on memorials, and a long list of vice-presidents, who worked together
successfully in producing the most celebrated reunion the society had as yet had.
The annual meeting was held January 26, 1874, at the parlors of the new Presby-
terian church, which were adorned with portraits of several of the old pioneers,
among them those of Hon. Isaac E. Crary, Judge Abner Pratt, Judge Greeves,
and Hon. Charles T. Gorham. Rev. John D. Pierce, the pioneer minister, and
first State superintendent of public instruction in the State and Union, Mrs. A.
L. Hays, Mrs. George Ketchum, and Mrs. Tenney Peabody were present, besides
many others, former residents of the county. Three hundred guests were seated
at the table. Dr. Comstock, as president, welcomed the pioneers, and Mr. Pierce
addressed the meeting. Rev. A. M. Fitch, also a pioneer preacher of 1836, and
Hon. Erastus Hussey, the conductor and manager of the underground railroad
in abolition days, were also present, and contributed to the interest of the occa-
sion. A. B. Cook was elected president, J. M. Parsons secretary, and a vice-
president from each township and city. The reunion of 1875 was held January
26, at the Presbyterian church, and Erastus Hussey, of Battle Creek (1836),
elected president, and Samuel S. Lacey secretary, and a new list of vice-presidents
from the townships and cities of the county. Delegates were appointed to attend
the State pioneer association, to be held at Lansing on the 3d of February follow-
ing. Mr. Hussey and Mr. Lacey were re-elected at the reunion of 1876, and a
committee was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws for the government
of the society, and C. P. Dibble appointed historian. At the reunion in 1877,
which was held at the Witt House, the committee reported constitution and code
of by-laws, which were adopted with some minor amendments. Any person who
has been a resident of Michigan twenty years can become a member on payment
of twenty-five cents per annum into the treasury of the society. The officers
elected under the constitution were as follows : William R. McCall, president ;
S. S. Lacey, secretary; A. O. Hyde, treasurer; Dr. 0. C. Comstock, historian ; and a
vice-president from each township and city in the county. Some fifty or more
persons signed the constitution and partook of the banquet prepared by " mine
host" of the Witt House in the bountiful manner peculiarly natural to him. Mr.
Hussey, the retiring president, made a historical address full of interest ; and a
memorial of Thomas Chisholm, a fellow-pioneer who had passed to the " undis-
covered country" a few days before, was placed on record. Committees to gather
the history of the pioneer bar and medical profession were appointed ; Dr. Cox, of
Battle Creek, W. H. Brown, Esq., and others, entertained the company for some
time with reminiscence sad and humorous, and the reunion was over.

The society has done much to gather and preserve the early history of the
county, and we are under many obligations to Mr. Lacey, the secretary, for his
courtesy in allowing us access to the records and archives of the society in our
work of compiling the history of Calhoun. He has done more to preserve what
has been presented than almost any other man, because of taking notes of what
has been said at the reunions and publishing the same in the Expounder, of
which paper he is and has been the editor since 1873. The greater part of the
business of gathering data has been presented orally, instead of by written docu-
ments. Mrs. Hays' and Mrs. Ketchum 's letters are valuable documents, and
Colonel (now Judge) Dickey's paper was carefully prepared and is reliable.
These and a few others are the only written documents possessed at the present
time by the society.

BATTLE CREEK MEDICAL AND SURGICAL SANITARIUM.

This institution was established in the summer of 1866, under the name of
" The Western Health Reform Institute." It is owned by an incorporated body
of stockholders, who hold annual meetings for the purpose of electing a board of
directors, who have the immediate control and management of the institution.

The buildings and grounds of the institution are situated in the most healthful
and pleasant portion of the city of Battle Creek, about one-fourth of a mile within
the corporation limits. The buildings comprise, in addition to those shown in the
accompanying view, four cottages, a commodious laundry building, and a large
. building in the rear of the main building, containing the finest bathing-rooms in
the State.

The grounds connected with the several buildings comprise about fifteen acres,
most of which is occupied with groves, flower-beds, fruit-trees, small fruit of
various kinds, grape-vines, etc. A beautiful brook flows through the rear portion
of the premises, running near the foot of the eminence upon which the buildings
of the institution are located, the eastern slope of which is terraced and covered
with a thrifty vineyard.

The elevated position of the main building, which is reached by a gradual
ascent of about three-fourths of a mile from the central portion of the city,
commands from the observatory which surmounts it a delightful view of the
entire city, and many square miles of diversified landscape scenery in the vicinity.
Beautiful hills and dells, meadows, lawns, parks, and groves, with here and there
a water-course seen between the trees, make as fine a picture as is often met in
the western States east of the Mississippi.

Nature of the institution. — Although at first founded as a water-cure, there has
been a gradual change in the plan of treatment employed in the institution, by
the introduction of additional methods and appliances. Within the last year
especially (1876-77) such modifications have been made, through a change in
the medical management, that the institution has been placed upon a strictly
rational and scientific basis. No special nor exclusive method of medical practice
is either employed or recommended. Its medical corps are graduates from
Bellevue hospital college, New York, and other first-class medical schools, being
also members of the State Medical Association. In addition to the ordinary
remedies employed in general medical practice, the physicians of this institution
employ electricity in its various forms and by various methods, the Swedish
movements, all approved hydropathic appliances, sun-bathing, the health lift and
other forms of exercise, together with the Turkish and Russian baths, and all other
appliances employed in hospitals and sanitariums.

From this it will be seen that this institution differs entirely from the numerous
water-cures, health institutes, bathing resorts, and various other so-called " cures"
scattered through the country. In addition to the various remedial agents em-
ployed, great attention is bestowed upon the dietary of patients.

Objects of the institution. — The objects of this institution are — 1, The relief
of human suffering by medical and surgical treatment ; and 2, The education of
the people respecting the laws of health.

For the accomplishment of the first object the institution is fully equipped with
all means required for the rational treatment of disease, the physicians in charge
claiming to employ all known remedies which have been proven by experience to
be of use in medical treatment.

In order to attain the second object of the institution, patients are instructed
by parlor talks and lectures respecting the nature of diseases, their causes, and
how to avoid them. Thus, while being cured of their various maladies, they are
taught how to secure good health for the future.

The charitable character of the institution is established upon a permanent
basis, by the assignment by each stockholder of all dividends which might accrue
to the institution itself to be used in increasing the facilities for treating and
accommodating patients, and in making other improvements. Thus it will be
seen that no individual can be in any way benefited, pecuniarily, by the earnings
of the institution.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

37

Success of the institution. — During the eleven years that the institution has
been in operation there have been treated in it more than three thousand patients.
Of those who visit it for treatment the majority are chronic invalids, who have
been pronounced incurable at home, or given up to die by their friends. All are
not cured, of course, but it is unquestionable that a larger percentage of patients
recover under the varied treatment and favorable conditions here afforded than
could under a less comprehensive mode of treatment.

The institution has an excellent and rapidly-increasing reputation, both at home
and abroad, and is an ornament to the city in which it is located. It now accom-
modates (1877) about seventy-five patients, and with the addition of the main
building, now in process of erection, its capacity will be doubled.

TOPOGRAPHY-

CHAPTER XIII.

-DRAINAGE — SOIL — TIMBER — GEOLOGY — AREA — GEOGRAPHY
— CLIMATOLOGY — FAUNA.

Calhoun County, for eligibility of situation, fertility of soil, variety of
natural productions, and salubriousness of climate, is not surpassed by any of her
sister counties in the territory included in the Chicago treaty of 1821. Watered
by the St. Joseph river in the southeastern portion of its area, by the Kalamazoo,
which passes through its central and northern part from east to west, the Notta-
wa-seepe in the southwestern area, Battle creek (Waupokisco in the Pottawatomie
vernacular), Wilder creek, and Rice creek, the affluents of the Kalamazoo and
Pine creek, a tributary of the Nottawa-seepe, and numerous small creeks, its mill
privileges are sufficient to propel a much greater amount of machinery than has
hitherto been employed in the county, although it ranks among the first counties
in the State in respect to flouring-mills at the present time. Its lakes are numerous
but not extensive in area, covering some six thousand three hundred and twenty-
five acres of the surface of the county, the stream surface being approximately
two thousand acres. The names of the lakes are Duck, Gang, and Prairie in
Clarence ; Hall's, Winnipeg, and Montcalm, in Sheridan ; Spectacle, in Albion •
Homer, in Homer ; Lake of the Woods, Pardy, and School, in Lee ; Mud Willis
Ackley, Garfield, Lane's, and Potter, in Con vis ; Gardiner, in Marshall ; Fisher
Cedar, Pout, Long, Lyon, and Fish, in Fredonia ; Brace lakes, in Fredonia and
Eckford ; Nottawa-seepe, in Fredonia and Tekonsha ; Warner, in Tekonsha and
a cluster of lakes near Tekonsha village ; Turtle, in Burlington ; Lee's and Cotton
in Newton ; Beadle, in Emmett ; Clear, Pine, Bear, and St. Mary's, in Pennfield •
Wabasacon, in Bedford ; Hart, and the charming Goguac, in Battle Creek • and
Copanocan and Steamburg, in Le Roy.

THE SOIL

is a fertile sandy loam in the original openings, merging into a darker and heavier
soil on the prairies. It is a light, quick, warm soil, and capable of producing
abundantly of all the cereals, wheat being the staple product. Fruit is abundantly
produced of all varieties common to the climate, and of a most excellent quality.
Cranberries abound in all of the marshes, of which there are, in some portions
of the county, a considerable area. The township of Lee is largely covered with
marsh and tamarack swamp, nearly one-half of its area being so occupied.

THE TIMBER

of the county is principally white and burr oak, the surface originally being
mostly the oak openings of the country. Heavy timber is found on the water-
courses, wherein other varieties are found, such as sugar-maple, hickory, black
walnut, elm, ash, sycamore, whitewood, etc. Some of the plains were very lightly
covered with oak, and other parts were very heavily timbered openings.

THE SURFACE

of the county, generally, is a level, consisting of oak plains, prairies, and heavy
timber, though in some portions the surface is broken and rolling, rising into
rounded summits of some considerable elevation above the immediately surrounding
area.

Geologically, the surface, to the unskilled observer, presents a tame and unin-
teresting appearance ; but to one who can see " books in running streams, and
sermons in stones," it is eloquent in language that thrills his heart, and calls forth
his best thoughts Scattered all over its surface lies the boulder drift, huge and
lesser fragments of rocks, whose parent beds lie hundreds of miles to the north

of Lake Superior, and which fragments have been ground and transported in the
great glaciers from the northeast, which plowed over the surface and planed down
the rocks, pulverizing and mixing the debris to form the productive soil the present
dweller finds at his hand and beneath his feet. Fossils that tell of ocean depths
and the processes of creation are found permeating the soil in every locality, but
all of them of foreign birth, — none of them are here in situ. They, too, were
brought in the glacial drift, and, being composed largely of lime, give that peculiar
quality to the soil which makes it so well adapted to the culture of wheat.
The boulders form a not-to-be-despised portion of Calhoun's economic treasures,
as they are largely used in the foundation walls of buildings, where they make a
most solid and compact wall. They are used extensively, too, for inclosures, and
when laid up carefully are not liable to fall down, and make an enduring fence.
They are quite easily handled and wrought by skilled workmen.

The Marshall sandstone, so called, crops out along the Kalamazoo at Marshall
and in Marengo township. The outcrop at Marshall gave the group its pro-
visional name, and its stratification is thus given by Winchell :

4 sandstone, rather thick bed, reddish, ten feet.

3 " dark reddish, rather hard, very fossiliferous, five feet.

2 " reddish-green, homogeneous, thick-bedded, ten feet.

1 " light greenish-gray, thick-bedded.

Several characteristic outcrops occur in Marengo. At Battle Creek the lower
beds of the group are seen in places highly calcareous and very hard, but filled
with characteristic fossils. The outcrop at Athens, Le Roy, and Newton, Win-
chell places among the shales of the gritstones of Lake Huron, and says in Le
Roy "these argillaceous beds present the characteristics of i black bituminous
shale.' " The outcrop at Albion is also of the Marshall sandstone. This stone
is somewhat extensively used for building purposes. It is easily worked, hardens
by exposure, and has a neat and substantial appearance. The first workings
of the quarries were shaley and imperfect, and proved of insufficient strength
for building purposes, but the lower strata are sound and firm. The quarries at
Albion have not been utilized very much, and thus far are not considered as suf-
ficiently valuable in quality to use for building purposes. Fossils have been col-
lected in the Battle Creek outcrop, and described in Sillimaris Journal, vol. xxv.
page 262.

The area of the county contains four hundred and forty-five thousand two
hundred and forty acres of land and eight thousand three hundred and thirty-
three acres of water surface, approximately.

Geographically, the county is bounded north by Eaton, east by Jackson, south
by Branch, and west by Kalamazoo counties.

Its climatology is similar to that of the surrounding area, being subject to
sudden and marked changes of temperature. The range of the thermometer,
however, seldom passes beyond ninety degrees above or ten degrees below the
unit of Fahrenheit. Snow usually falls sufficiently frequent and heavy to make
good sleighing during the greater part of the winter months. The county in the
early days of its settlement was subject to malarial diseases of various types; but
as the settlements have progressed, and the lands have become better drained
and the annual decay of vegetation greatly lessened, these diseases have, in a
great measure, disappeared, and the county at the present time ranks with the
best in the State in point of health.

THE FAUNA

of the county originally was the same as that of Michigan generally. When the
first settlers came to it wild game of all varieties was abundant, and the Indian
had made it his hunting-ground for years. Deer in large herds covered the plains
and filled the openings ; gray wolves and his congener of the prairie, the coyote,
were numerous; black bears trooped through the woods; lynxes and wildcats were
frequently met with ; foxes, red and gray, scampered in every direction ; squirrels
flirted tneir brushes, and chickareed in every tree ; beaver and otter were occasion-
ally met with on the streams, and the Mephitis Americana perfumed every breeze
with its pungent odor ; wild turkeys in broods strutted through the woods ; par-
tridges drummed on every log ; grouse (prairie chickens) made melody in the spring
mornings with their plaintive trumpeting or noisy cackling ; wild ducks literally
blackened the streams and lakes, and geese filled the air with their harsh cronk
as they followed their leader in their triangular-shaped flight ; wild pigeons dark-
ened the sun with their immense flocks; quail whistled on every side, and snipe
and plover cut the air in graceful curves, or "tetered" on the sandbars and shal-
lows of the streams ; song-birds of every variety and hue filled the woods with
their melody, or flashed like sunbeams through the foliage, rivaling, in their
bright plumage, the thousand-hued flowers that carpeted the earth on prairie and
opening, filling the air with their fragrance and the eye with their loveliness ; fish
swarmed in every lake, and flashed and sported in every stream, from the muscu-
lar sturgeon to the silvery minnow ; pike, bass, sunfish, and perch dashed at the

38

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

flies that sported on the surface of the water in a manner that would have glad-
dened the. heart of the dullest disciple of Isaak Walton. Wild bees hummed and
flashed by like the wind, and stored their honey in hollow trees, in waiting for
the settlers, who gathered the sweet deposit as a welcome addition to their meagre
bill of fare. And such was Calhoun when, in the olden time, she put on her
"beautiful garments" of summer, before the pioneer's axe and plow began to war
upon nature in her wildest and most beautiful aspect.

CHAPTER XIV.

KEMINISCENCE — CHOLERA — PIONEER VISITING — SOCIAL PARTIES — FIRST BALL
— INDEPENDENCE DAY — A BEAR-FIGHT — BRUIN AND THE LOVERS —
WOLVES — TRIBULATIONS OF PIONEER COURTSHIP.

A pioneer life is made up of toil, privation, and suffering, largely, and yet it
is not all gloom and shadow. The bright sunlight at times gleams athwart the
dark clouds that hang upon the horizon, coloring with its soft, warm tints the
blackness thereof, until the whole mass is suffused with the rays of hope, and
bright anticipation casts its halo over the arching gloom, dispelling sadness and
sorrow, grief and pain, and leading the mourner unconsciously upward and for-
ward into more cheerful surroundings ; and, though he may lapse therefrom many
times and recur again to the depths below, yet the memory remains, and he is
the sooner quickened by the next passing ray, momentary though it may be, and
lifted thereby the more readily into an atmosphere rarer, clearer, purer, and more
enduring.

The saddest experience that came to the first pioneers of Calhoun was that of
1832, when the dread pestilence, the Asiatic cholera, leaping over the bounds of
the noisome cellars, filthy streets, hot and stifling brick walls of cities, fell like
a thunderbolt from a clear sky among the settlers in the fresh woods, whose foli-
age quivered in the summer breezes direct from the great lake beyond, and with-
out warning gathered its victims ; reducing the handful of pioneers over a tenth
in a few days. We have given elsewhere an account of the death of the first
victim, Isaac H. Hurd. Mrs. Pierce, the beloved and estimable wife of Rev. J.
D. Pierce, was the second one in Marshall, and Randall Hobart made her coffin,
the first one in the county, and he and the husband buried her at night. The
case of the Nichols family, of Athens, is given elsewhere. At the pioneer
reunion of 1875, incidents were related of Rufus Hosmer, now deceased, who,
while on his way to Grand Rapids with a friend, passed through forty miles of
woods, and near the close of one day heard a halloo, and, upon following up the
sound, came to a lone cabin and found a man alone with his dead wife. They
stopped and made the best preparations they could, and the next day gave the wife
a pioneer burial, and went on their way, leaving the stricken husband alone with
his sorrow. Dr. Comstock alluded to a pioneer funeral at Bellevue, where a hus-
band took his dead wife into his sleigh and came through the woods forty miles to
give her a Christian burial.

Those were days when among the pioneers

" Sorrow flowed from eye to eye,
And joy from heart to heart."

When the griefs of a neighbor were made the common griefs of all, and the
burdens were equally divided whenever it was possible for such disposition of
them. Was any one glad, all rejoiced with him ; did any one sorrow, all mourned.
Neighbors were at long distances, and necessity made them all kin. What wonder
then is it that the old pioneers, as they see their companions dropping by the
wayside overcome by the heat and burden of the day, cling closer to one another,
and, as they meet together at their reunions, speak lovingly and lingeringly of the
" early days," when time was young with them, and hearts were buoyant and
hopes high, and purpose firm. Well may they look back upon the days that will
never return, and tell their stories o'er of hair-breadth 'scapes from the wild beasts,
and the toils and sorrows of pioneer life, for such days are passed away forever.
The railroads have taken the pioneer into the realms of the has been, and we shall
ne'er look upon his like again.

But there was a humorous side to the pioneers' lives as well as a sorrowful and
sad one, and the amusements of the day were entered into with a zest. Visits
were made in those days, where calls are now in vogue. In the winter the whole
family would pile into the sled and go off for a good time from five to ten miles.
In the summer the ladies made their calls on horseback, with the larger olive-
branches on the horse in front and the smaller ones behind. Judge Dickey tells
how in those days every man was a neighbor ; and says, " Now some go fifty
miles to find one, because this one is too rich, that one not rich enough, or his

politics or religion is wrong. There was no such trouble in our early associations.
We then had no roads, but sometimes in going to balls and bees in timber lands
a crotched sled hauled by oxen was used, and sometimes, in getting over a large
log, the party would slide out behind, but that made no difference. A girl got
quite as many invitations to dance as though she had not slipped off the sled.
Then we had ' slews' of foot visiting, women and children in the afternoon and
husbands in the evening ; and the fiddle was brought out and the dance went on 7
participated in by old and young." The first social party given in the county
was by Sidney Ketchum, in Marshall, in his large log house, which stood on the
present site of C. P. Dibble's elegant mansion. Every person in town was invited,
and nearly all were there, infants included, and the house was not crowded.
Mrs. Hays, in writing of it, says, " It was a fine entertainment, and the company
were well appearing and well dressed, and would not disgrace Marshall or any
town at the present day." The first regular ball was given on the occasion of the
opening of the National in Marshall, January 1, 1836, by Colonel Andrew Mann,
which was attended by the people for miles around. In April following Colonel
Mann gave another soiree dansante, with great success.

The first celebration of the Fourth of July was, had in 1836, at Marshall, at
which time there was a large concourse of people gathered into the village from the
country round about. Horatio Hickok was president of the day, Boville Shum-
way, reader; W. H. Brown, orator; Judge Dickey, marshal; S. S. Alcott, George
S. Wright, and others, committee of arrangements. The oration was delivered
in the woods, near the site of the present Lutheran church. The dinner was pro-
vided by Colonel Mann, of the National, who graced his table with roast pigs at
every eight feet, which one of the guests said " were cooked just enough to make
them mad ;" and these infantile porkers were flanked in front, rear, and all around
with champagne-bottles, the tables being otherwise garnished with " chicken
fixins" of every attainable variety. The viands dispatched, the fluids and toasts
were in order, and a jolly time was had, remembered by all who participated.

Jacob Ward, of Marengo, was returning from his work one night having his
rifle over his shoulder, when he met a huge she-bear, and of course, hunter-like,
could not forego the sending of a bullet crashing into her ribs. She fell to the
shot, and he in his excitement spilled his percussion-pills which were then in vogue,
before the introduction of caps, and was left with a useless gun. He cut a large
club, and going up to the bear, which was still lying on the ground, struck it a
heavy blow on the head, which, instead of stunning it, had the contrary effect of
rousing it to action, and on the instant she rose to her feet and reached for the
woodsman for a close, if not a loving embrace. He grasped her on either side of
her shaggy head, when she bit him through the wrist. But it was life or death
then with him, and he held on despite her fierce growls and sharp teeth. She
bit his wrists through and through, lacerating them fearfully, but he kept her at
a distance sufficient to prevent her using her hind feet on his person, and finally,
by an almost superhuman effort, threw her down and got away. He had his
wounds dressed at the first cabin he came to, the occupant taking his gun and
going out to find the wounded brute. He had not gone far from the place where
the struggle had been made before he found her in the death-throes, and soon
dispatched her.

William R. McCall relates an incident of his courting days, where his privacy
was interrupted by three of the plantigrade family at a time when two were
company and more were in the way. When Mr. McCall was paying his addresses
to his lady-love in 1833-34, he used to walk out into Marengo to see her of a
Sunday, and as the house her parents lived in had but a single room, the young
people used to go into the woods for their conversation, and to settle the prelimi-
naries of their future housekeeping. One Sunday afternoon, when the usual
walk had been made and the pair were coming back to the cabin, they sat down
upon a log to prolong the pleasant interview; and while " eyes spoke love to eyes
which spoke again," an old bear and two cubs came along and stopped to gaze at
the unwonted vision. Madame Bruin looked at them, and then at her frolicking
cubs, as if comparing the relative prettiness of the two pairs, and, as if content
with her pair, walked slowly on with them and was soon out of sight. The seat
on s the log was soon vacated, for the shades of night were falling fast and the
young man had the journey to Marshall to make through the woods, and did not
care to meet such an interesting trio on his way. Prairie fires in the first two or
three years used to run through the settlements, and sometimes caused consider-
able damage. At other times, by dint of hard work " and fighting fire with fire "
by setting back fires, the stacks and crops were saved. One night when John
Bertram was building his frame barn in 1832, as the family of Burland and Ber-
tram and his men were sitting about the fire-place chatting, a wolf poked his nose
under the door of the cabin, and Bertram's dogs, of which he used to keep two
or three, sounded the alarm, they too being in the house ; and Burland firing from
the window broke the brute's leg, and he was found by the dogs the next morning
and dispatched.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

39

Thomas Chisholm and George Ketchum, in the winter of 1832, went to Prairie
Ronde for potatoes, getting as far as the St. Joseph river the first night, where
they stayed without food or covering for themselves or horses. They managed to
get a fire in an old whitewood tree, and stood around it till near daylight, when
they got their ponies off of the ice into the river and out again and upon the
other side ; and when they arrived at Kookush prairie, they found a cabin where
the woman pounded up buckwheat with an iron wedge and baked them cakes, which,
with meat, answered them for supper, breakfast, and dinner. On the trip, they stayed
one night at Mr. Hanchett's, and during the night they heard a noise in the hen-
roost, and all got up to see what was the matter, supposing it to be an owl or skunk.
Mrs. Hanchett stood at the door while her husband went for his gun, and when he
came back with a light the depredator was discovered, and proved to be a large
wolf, which was speedily killed. Newman Enos tells of a trip of " land-looking,"
wherein he and a companion got lost one dark, rainy night, and provided them-
selves with a fire by firing their rifles into a fallen tree, by which they stood all
night while the wolves were howling on all sides, and the lightning occasionally
revealed their gaunt forms in rather too affectionate proximity. He says he was
married in 1837, and endured many trials on his wife's account previous to their
marriage, as she was on one side of the river and he the other, and the only cross-
ing was by logs and poles ; and it frequently occurred that he had to make his
Sunday afternoon call after having tumbled off the bridge into the water and
given his Sunday best a soaking, but did not think it made any difference in the
warmth of her reception of him. They began housekeeping in December of that
year, with furniture he manufactured with his axe and an auger. The bedstead
was made of poles, and the bark he peeled from them he wove into a bed-cord
like a chair-bottom ; stools made of slabs answered for chairs, and their cooking-
utensils were kettles and spiders, and a Dutch chimney served for a stove. J. C.
Patterson, one " to the manor born" in Michigan, tells of a time when one wagon,
one wheel (spinning), one oven, and one fanning-mill did duty for a whole neigh-
borhood, and the neighborhood joined in the grists for milling, and lived on short
rations till they were returned.

CHAPTER XY.

THE PATRIOTISM OF CALHOUN: FIRST VOLUNTEERS OF MICHIGAN — BLACK
HAWK WAR — TOLEDO WAR MILITIA — MEXICAN WAR — THE REBELLION.

Among the many glories of the Republic, none shine more brightly than that
reflected upon it by its citizen soldiery. Its army, a mere nucleus in time of
peace, when necessity demands is swelled to hundreds of thousands, aye, millions,
by volunteers from the field, the workshop, the store, and the counting-room,
whose bayonets are fixed by patriotism, and whose hearts are as devoid of fear as
they are of mercenary motives. With minds capable of reasoning, they are no
machines to obey mechanically the will of their superiors, but with perceptions
quickened by the love of country and the endearments of home, the movements
required are executed with celerity and intelligence, and with a will to do and
dare that is irresistible. The conflict once ended, they relapse into their former
condition of domesticity with readiness, and resume the humdrum routine of daily
life as gracefully as they relinquish it patriotically to go out into the carnage of
battle.

Michigan has ever been foremost in the demands made upon her for her quotas
to the armies of the nation, and her first volunteers were those of the gallant Major
Antoine de Quindre, who led a company of Frenchmen from Detroit to the aid of
the United States troops in the war of 1812 against the British and their Indian
confederates, at the battle of Monguagon, or Brownstown. These volunteers
charged with such impetuosity upon the Indian lines that the savages broke, and
falling back upon the British reserves, threw them into confusion, and the Amer-
ican troops, charging, drove the enemy from the field. The gallant action of Major
De Quindre and his company received the well-merited thanks of the Michigan
legislature in after-years.

Calhoun has not been a whit behind any of her sisters in maintaining the honor
of the State in its military renown, and her record of war, which began to be
written ere her settlement was one year advanced from its incipiency, has been a
proud and glorious one.

The first demand made upon her patriotism was in the alarm of 1832, when
the news of Black Hawk's intended march of desolation and blood came to the
handful of pioneers at Marshall. They were surrounded by men of the same race
as those whose warriors were already on the war-path, and who, for aught they

knew, were just as implacable, and as ready as they to apply fche torch and use
the scalping-knife upon their own property and families ; but, notwithstanding,
the little colony sent out an advance guard to aid their brethren in Illinois and
Wisconsin, trusting that the invader would be stayed ere he came to their own
borders. This company were Sidney Ketchum, Dr. A. L. Hays, George Ket-
chum, and, in fact, nearly all of the able-bodied men in the colony, who went as
far as Schoolcraft, where they learned the Sac chief had not crossed the Missis-
sippi, and consequently there was no immediate necessity for their presence in the
west, and they returned home, except Mr. Ketchum and Dr. Hays, who utilized
their journey thus far by proceeding to White Pigeon and entering several fine
tracts of land in Calhoun. The next messenger brought the news of Black Hawk's
capture, and quietness again reigned.

The next call that came to inflame their ardor was the demand of Governor
Stevens for troops for the " Toledo" war, to drive back the ferocious Buckeyes of
Ohio from the disputed territory along the boundary of that State and Michigan.
No one went to this war, however, from Calhoun, but the excitement over the
boundary led to the organization of the militia of the State quite effectively.

The Calhoun militia were first enrolled in October, 1836, Judge Dickey being
the first person to receive a commission (captain) in the county. Afterwards
other commissions, as captains, were issued to Colonel Fonda, Colonel Ansley at
Marengo, Captain James Winters, who raised an independent company in Athens,
and Captain Allen Denning at Homer. When the militia were brigaded Judge
Dickey was promoted to the colonelcy of the thirteenth regiment, Dr. A. S. Hays
was made general of the second brigade, and Isaac E. Crary was made major-
general of the third division, and Charles T. Gorham was made inspector-general.
The lieutenants were all made captains, and the captains colonels, before the sys-
tem fell into disuse, and a great deal of display and pleasure was got out of the
musters and trainings, and for a time the interest was maintained without flagging.
But at last it grew irksome to drill for a preparation against an enemy that might
never come against them ; the commutation clause was struck out of the militia
law, the glory departed from the " pomp and circumstance" of the tented field,
court-martials were powerless to execute their decrees, and the militia " folded its
tents and silently stole away."

The next demand on their patriotism was more earnest and more costly, and
came in 1847, when the President issued his call on Michigan for a regiment of
volunteers for service in Mexico. A company was recruited in Calhoun by
Captain John Van Arman, with Lieutenants J. D. S. Pierce, Duel, and fifty
privates. John T. Yernon aided largely in raising the company, but did not go
to the field.

Duel was the first lieutenant and Pierce the second, the latter receiving his
commission on the day he was eighteen years old. The company left Detroit
January, 1848, arriving at Vera Cruz shortly afterwards, and, with the Michigan
regiment, in command of Colonels Stockton and Williams, were ordered to Cor-
dova, which place the regiment captured and held during the war. Lieutenant
Pierce was sent home on furlough during the summer of 1848, having been sick
with the measles, and having also contracted a disease incident to the Gulf coast,
from which he died in the November following.

Calhoun in the war for the Union during the great rebellion was prompt, patri-
otic, and decisive. Her citizens were in the first fire upon the traitors at Bull
Run, and at the inglorious capture of the captain of the so-called Confederacy.
They were with McClellan on the Peninsula and with Banks at Baton Rouge
and Port Hudson, and Butler at New Orleans. They fought with Hooker above
the clouds, sat down before Vicksburg with Grant, and with Sherman '•' marched
down to the sea." Their blood stained all the way from the Rapidan to Appo-
mattox, through the Wilderness, as Grant hammered the hosts of Lee day after
day, gaining, slowly and surely, but at dreadful cost, the key to the situation,
which finally forced the submission of the armies of the Confederates. At Chan-
tilly, Fredericksburg, down the Shenandoah with the intrepid Custer, at Fair
Oaks, Malvern, and the seven days' battles before Richmond ; at Gettysburg and
Antietam; at Resaca, Kenesaw, Lookout Mountain; before Atlanta; at Nash-
ville, Shiloh, and Cumberland Gap ; in the Carolinas and Virginia ; in Missouri,
in hot pursuit of Van Dorn and Price ; and wherever else a glorious record was
made, there Calhoun had brave men, who wore her crest in their hearts and bore
her honor upon their bayonets. Her colors were born aloft through gloom and
defeat as well as in the flush and tumult of victory. They trailed not in dis-
grace, nor were they borne by panic-stricken soldiers, fleeing from the enemy.
Mason, Barns, Dickey, Woodruff, Comstock, Darrow, Byington, Hicks, Barney,
Davis, and Rhines paid the penalty demanded of gallant oflicers who lead where
brave men dare to follow. Calhoun's dead lie in almost every battle-field strewn
with the sons of the republic, who died that it might live and be indeed " the
land of the free," as it ever has been " the home of the brave." They suffered
and died in the noisome trench and in the infected hospital; they starved in

40

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Andersonville until they became almost driveling lunatics under the brutality of
a Wirz ; they chafed in Libby, Belle Isle, Salisbury, and Columbia, and in the
chain-gang stood under the fire of the " swamp angel" of Charleston harbor;
they fell in the skirmish, on the picket line, and in the charge, amid the roar of
cannon and the rattle of musketry. Whatever form of sacrifice was demanded by
the bloody Moloch of war, Calhoun had a victim who was offered to the insatiable
monster. The flowers of the sunny south bloom over their ashes, and the breezes,
redolent with the fragrance of the orange and magnolia, sing their requiem. They
fell in the defense of a common country assailed by its own parricidal children.
They maintained its honor and integrity against those who sought madly to de-
stroy both. They paid the sacrifice of their lives ; but their works have followed
and shall follow them to the end of recorded time, or while memory shall retain
its seat. Calhoun's honor was their honor, and nobly and well did they guard it,
and living or dead, maimed or scathless, all honor to the soldiers for the Union of
old Calhoun.

" By fairy hands their knell is rung,
By forms unseen their dirge is sung.
There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray,
To bless the turf that wraps their clay ;
And Freedom shall awhile repair
To dwell, a weeping hermit, there."

THE WOMEN'S WORK.

It would be unjust, not to say ungallant, to pass by the heroic women of Cal-
houn without pausing to pay them the tribute of praise and gratitude so justly
their due for their labors of love and mercy during the terrible years of 1861-
65. Their hands wrought while their eyes streamed with pitying tears; and their
hearts were lifted up in prayer to the God of the universe for the safety of loved
ones and the success of the armies of the Union. Aid societies sprang up all
over the county, wherein noble and self-sacrificing women banded together and
prepared comforts for the well, dainties for the sick, necessaries for the wounded,
and cheer and blessings for all. Fair hands, scraping lint, knitting socks,
making towels, preparing jellies and cordials, were busy throughout the whole
dreadful struggle. Dinners were prepared for recruits, and entertainments given
and refreshments sold to swell the funds for supplies. Boxes of goods of all needful
descriptions were forwarded to the soldiers, whose bosoms swelled with gratitude,
and whose eyes welled over with tears of joy, at their reception. Early and late,
in season and out of season, these angels of mercy toiled and gathered and for-
warded, that their brothers, sons, husbands, lovers, might want for no comfort in
their power to bestow while they were upholding the old flag against traitors in
arms. Too much cannot be said of the efforts of the women of the North to
sustain and cheer the armies of the nation while engaged in the work of saving
the republic from its enemies within its own precincts ; and the women of Calhoun
were of the foremost in all of their good words and works.

INCIDENTS.

Sergeant Henry Bostock, of Company E, Sixth Michigan Infantry, was the
leader of a forlorn hope in a night attack on the batteries of Port Hudson, and
was the only one killed in the engagement in his party. He was shot in the
neck, by reason of his being made conspicuous by a sabre-bayonet affixed to
a musket which he borrowed of an Indiana soldier, which, being bright, gleamed
in the moonlight, thus affording a target which was quickly made use of by a
rebel marksman.

Calvin Colegrove was the first Michigan man killed in the war. He was
orderly sergeant of Company I, of the First Infantry, three months' men, and
was made color-bearer of the regiment at the first battle of Bull Bun, in July,
1861, and was shot dead in the first of the fight.

Lieutenant Gilbert H. Dickey, in command of Company K, Twenty-fourth
Infantry, was killed with sixteen of his men at Gettysburg, all of whom lay
within a few feet of each other when they fell. He held his company in their
position when his supports had all fallen back. Lieutenant Wm. S. Woodruff
was wounded in the face, the ball entering his mouth and passing out through his
cheek, at Gettysburg, and within ten minutes afterwards he saw his brother
George A., in command of the celebrated Bicketts battery of the Mexican war,
shot through the head and instantly killed. It is said the rebel general Magruder,
who commanded the battery during the Mexican war, recognized at the battle of
Fair Oaks his old battery, and made several attempts to capture it ; but failing to

do so, relieved his vexation at his non-success by asserting that " all h 1 could

not take the old battery." Lieutenant Woodruff was afterwards on the Bichmond
campaign, while sitting in a breastwork or other fortification, struck in the side by
a spent ball and so injured that he died. Another brother, Lieutenant Frank
Woodruff, while attached to the Twelfth U. S. Corps d' Afrique, died in New

Orleans. These were sons of Judge George Woodruff, of Marshall. The wife of
Judge Woodruff died in a very short time after the death of her boys.

Captain Devillo Hubbard, while with his company in the First Begiment of
three months' men at Alexandria, knocked down a secessionist who expressed
satisfaction at the death of Major Ellsworth, and made him swear on his bended
knees to support the Constitution of the United States, and of the State of
Michigan. The citizens of Marshall, in token of appreciation of his conduct,
sent him a fine revolver, which he received just in time to use in the battle of
Bull Bun.

In the defense of Knoxville, Major Byington led an assault on the enemy's
works in front of Fort Saunders, and in the charge, at the head of two hundred
and thirty-four men, fell mortally wounded. The enemy were ten times the num-
ber of his command, but so impetuous was the charge the Second gained the
breastworks, and for a moment was the master of the situation ; but the enemy
rallied, and by sheer force of numbers drove the little band back slowly over the
ground to their own intrenchments. They hesitated a moment to take up their
brave commander, but the gallant officer, though mortally hurt, still commanded
them : " Leave me ; I am badly hurt. The enemy will take care of me ; save
the regiment, if possible;" and then back through the hell of flame and ball the
brave and devoted band went, staggering under the murderous fire of musketry
and cannon that opened great gaps in their lines and covered the ground with
their slain.

Captain James B. Mason, of Company H, Merrill Horse, at the engagement
near Memphis, Tennessee, July 18, 1862, illustrated his tenderness towards his
men, though his heart knew no fear in front of an enemy. " As the ambulance
arrived at the temporary hospital provided for the wounded men, Mason insisted
upon taking them one by one in his own stalwart arms and laying them upon
their couches, from which many of them never again rose. No one could lift
them so tenderly, and when the merciful office was fulfilled his garments were
wet with their streaming blood." Captain Mason was afterwards the lieutenant-
colonel of the Eleventh Michigan Cavalry, and was mortally wounded while lead^
ing his regiment in the battle of Clinch Mountain, Virginia ; he died in the hands
of the enemy, and was buried by them at the foot of the mountain.

On the 2d of June, 1864, in the Bichmond campaign, at North Anna, the
Twentieth Begiment charged a line of rebel breastworks which it had formerly
occupied, and in the charge Lieutenant Bidwell, of Battle Creek, fell with his knee
crushed by a musket-ball. The works were taken and held, but so incessant was
the fire of the enemy that even a hand raised above the level of the works was
liable to be struck. All day long the men were obliged to stay there, beneath
the scorching rays of the sun, which converted the ditch in which they were con-
fined into a sort of human bake-oven. In the meantime, Bidwell, who was lying
in an open plowed field directly in line of the enemy's fire, was suffering in the
extremest tortures. So severe were his wounds that he could not move from
where he had fallen. Knights and Knowles volunteered to bring him off the
field. To stand erect was to court immediate death, and dead men could render
little assistance to a comrade in distress ; hence, it was found necessary to crawl as
close to mother earth as ever the serpent did that tempted Eve. Arriving, finally,
by this painful method, to where poor Bidwell lay, he was with some difficulty
placed upon his blanket ; then, by placing themselves in proper position, and
grasping the edge of the blanket between their toes, his rescuers were able to
draw him forward as far as the bend of their knees would permit. By repeated
efforts of this sort he was drawn the entire forty rods to the shelter of the breast-
works, but died of his wounds soon after. Lieutenant Jerome B. Warner, of the
Eighth Cavalry, and Captain Charles C. Dodge, of Company I, Twentieth Infantry,
were taken prisoners, and, during the bombardment of Charleston by the " swamp
angel," were put into the chain-gang and placed under the Union fire by the
military commandant of Charleston.

Clement Loundsbury, of Marengo, enlisted in the first company of 1 three
months' men, was taken prisoner at Bull Bun, and lay in Libby and Salisbury
thirteen months, and on his exchange re-enlisted in the Twentieth Infantry, and
rose from the ranks to the colonelcy of the regiment, being in the war from May,
1861, to May 30, 1865.

Charles H. Potter, of Homer, enlisted in Company M of the Second Cavalry as
a private, and December 18, 1863, was commissioned as second lieutenant of the
Fourteenth Battery, Michigan Light Artillery ; but, on the 24th of the same month,
before his commission was received, he was taken prisoner in a severe engagement
with the enemy near Dunbridge, East Tennessee, and, after suffering the tortures
of Libby and Andersonville, he was taken to Savannah, Georgia, where he died.
Of the fifty-two members of his regiment taken prisoners at the same time, but
one came through the terrible ordeal of captivity alive, — a German, John Kunn,
who formerly lived in Marshall, but who now resides in Detroit.

Captain E. 0. Crittenton was in command of Companies H and K of the

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

41

" Engineers and Mechanics" engaged in building bridges in General (Professor)
O. M. Mitchell's division, and was untiring, energetic, steady-minded, and could
stand the test of any trial imposed upon him. General Mitchell intimated to him
on one occasion his expectation that a certain bridge would be built in three days'
time, but the captain would offer no encouragement that it would be completed in
six or eight days. The general spoke of putting the infantry at the job, and
sending the engineers and mechanics home. "As you please, general," replied
Captain Crittenton ; " but if I should promise to build in three days what I knew
would require six, it would soon be said of me by yourself and others I don't un-
derstand my business." " You are right," responded the general, and the bridge
was ready on time.

Mud creek bridge was built by Captain Crittenton and his command in seven
days ; the bridge over Crow creek (three hundred feet) in five days ; and another
near Stevenson, Alabama, two hundred and twenty-five feet long, in five days
more. Widow creek bridge was built in four and a half days.

Colonel Loundsbury was with the Custer expedition, and wrote up the New
York Herald's report of the battle of the Little Big Horn, and he is now a
resident of the proposed new Territory of Pembina.

The following history of the regiments and batteries in which one organized
company, or more, were incorporated we have compiled from the exhaustive
reports of the adjutant-general, General John Robertson, and also from the " Red
Book" of Michigan, which condensed those reports very ably and judiciously.
We are also under obligations to Captain Almon E. Preston, of the " Merrill
Horse," for clippings from his able and interesting address delivered at Battle
Creek, on Decoration Day, 1876, and to Colonel N. J. Frink, of the Twenty-
eighth Infantry, and to Seth Lewis, Esq., for files of the Statesman during the
whole period of the war, wherein was published voluminous correspon deuce from
several of the men of the Calhoun companies in the field. Also to Colonel
Graves. Surgeon O'Donoghue, Captain Freeman, and others of the soldiers of
Calhoun.

FIRST MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

The First Michigan, — the regiment which, under Colonel Wilcox, led the ad-
vance of Michigan troops to the front, — although hurriedly organized and hastily
equipped, left the State a pattern regiment in every respect, none better having
preceded it to the national capital from any State. Arriving there at a crit-
ical time, when that place was in great and immediate danger of being attacked
and captured by the rebels, whose troops then picketed the Potomac, its pres-
ence aided much in establishing confidence, among those in authority, that the
capital was safe ; and its appearance in Pennsylvania avenue was hailed with
the cheers of loyal thousands. As it passed in review before the lamented
Lincoln it received his highest praise, and through them he thanked the State
for their prompt appearance in Washington. The regiment was assigned to
Heintzelman's division, and, under Colonel Wilcox, led the advance of the
Union army across the Long Bridge into Virginia on the 24th day of May,
driving in the rebel pickets, and entering Alexandria, via the road, simultane-
ously with the regiment of Ellsworth's Zouaves, who entered it by steamer. The
First Michigan took the railroad depot, capturing near there a troop of rebel cav-
alry, numbering one hundred, with their horses and equipments. At the battle of
Bull Run the regiment belonged to the brigade commanded by Colonel Wilcox,
and was in the hottest of the fight, eagerly pressing forward on the enemy, losing
heavily, but fighting stubbornly and gallantly. The Fire Zouaves, after charging
bravely, but in vain, upon one of the heaviest of the rebel batteries, fell back
when the Michigan First, then commanded by Major Bidwell, which had been
constantly associated with the Zouaves ever since Ellsworth fell at Alexandria,
moved promptly and rapidly forward and took their places. They charged
in double-quick upon the battery once and again in splendid style, and yet
it was not taken. They pushed forward to the attempt a third time, and
were again driven back before the deadly fire of the enemy. But the attack
was not abandoned. The brave fellows rallied for a fourth time to the deadly
work, but it was all in vain. The battery could not be taken. On that dis-
astrous field the First established the highest standard for Michigan troops, so
uniformly and so remarkably maintained throughout the entire war. Its dead
were found nearest the enemy's works. In the engagement the loss of the regi-
ment was heavy. Among the number were Captain Butterworth, Lieutenants
Mauch and Casey, wounded and taken prisoners, and who afterwards died of their
wounds, in rebel custody. Colonel Wilcox was wounded, and, falling into the
hands of the enemy, was held as a prisoner at Richmond for about fifteen months.
The regiment, on the expiration of its three months' term of service, returned to
the State, and was mustered out August 7, 1861. It was soon after reorganized
as a three years' regiment, and left for the Army of the Potomac, August 16, 1861,
commanded by Colonel John C. Robinson, then captain in the United States
Army, who continued to command it until April 28, 1862. when he was appointed
6

a brigadier-general of volunteers, and was succeeded in command by Colonel H.
S. Roberts, promoted from lieutenant-colonel. It went to the Peninsula with
McClellan, and was in the engagements at Mechanicsville, June 26 ; at Gaines'
Mills, June 27 ; at Malvern Hill, July 1 ; and at Gainsville, August 29. The
losses of the regiment in these engagements were not reported, excepting Captain
0. C. Comstock, of Marshall, who was killed at Gaines' Mills. It rendered most
gallant and valuable service in many hard-fought battles during the war, and suf-
fered severe losses in killed and wounded.

Among its numerous engagements none, perhaps, will be more vividly re-
membered by the regiment than the disastrous charges, so bravely made, but with
such fearful loss, upon the rebel position along the Warrenton and Centreville
turnpike, on August 30, 1862, during that disastrous series of engagements near
Manassas, now known as the second battle of Bull Run. The regiment, under
the command of Colonel Roberts, was in General Fitz John Porter's corps, and
had during the day been posted in the woods fronting the enemy's lines, and near
one of his most important batteries. At four p.m. the order was given to advance
and dislodge the rebels. The First Michigan, with the Eighteenth Massachusetts
and the Thirteenth New York regiments of infantry, deployed in column, and, with
cheers, charged. They instantly found themselves the target of a terrific fire from
ambushed infantry of the enemy, and from five batteries, four of which had been
masked and hitherto unseen. The charge was a murderous one, and within a
few moments fell eight officers and fifty per cent, of the regiment. The men
stood their ground bravely and with veteran coolness under these trying circum-
stances, and when the impossibility of success became a certainty, and the order
to retreat was given, fell back in good order to the woods, and reformed their
division. Had victory been possible their courage and persistency would have
won it. Their demeanor amid disaster and defeat affords one of the greatest
examples of true courage. Chaplain Arthur Edward, then with the regiment,
and who rendered most valuable and very acceptable service during the entire
engagement, and throughout his whole term in the army was an exemplary chap-
lain, wrote at the time as follows : " The regiment went into battle with twenty
officers and two hundred and twenty-seven men ; of the former but four are in
camp unhurt, and of the latter hardly one hundred and fifty. In the action the
First was placed in the centre. In front was a rebel battery, and so destructive
was its fire, and so commanding was its position, that General Porter ordered our
brigade (Martindale's, of Morrell's division) forward to capture it. The service
was so desperate, and so very sure were our officers of the death that awaited
them, that they shook hands with each other in farewell. Like heroes, they
pressed on to the charge until, coming within range, the enemy opened four ad-
ditional batteries, hitherto masked, and poured in a deadly fire ; thus they were
exposed to a cross-fire from five batteries at short range, throwing grape and can-
ister, and to a flank-fire of infantry. The result may be easily seen. Men fell
like grain in harvest. Colonel Roberts was shot in the breast by a minie ball,
and lived about ten minutes. His words were, ' I am killed ! Tell Captain

to take command of the regiment.' He seemed to feel that he was about

to fall, for, previous to his going to his place in line, he called me aside, and, after
leaving some private messages, said, ' I trust that Michigan will believe that I
tried to do my duty.' " There was one company from Calhoun County in the
regiment, Company I, Captain Devillo Hubbard, of Marshall, of three months'
men. In the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 1864, the First also especially
distinguished itself. It was in Bartlett's (Third) brigade of Griffin's (First)
division, Fifth corps, in the van of Grant's celebrated movement on Richmond,
which ultimately culminated in the fall of the rebel capital and the surrender of
its army. It fired the first musket of that glorious campaign, and its brigade
checked the rebel advance on the road leading to Orange Court-House, and this
opened the last act of the great drama. In the reorganization of the First, Cap-
tain H. S. Warner led Company B, with Lieutenant 0. C. Comstock. Lieutenants
William S. Woodruff, Lyford Peavey, and John S. Hatch were in command of
Company C. Comstock was promoted to the captaincy of Company K, and was
killed at the battle of the Wilderness. Peavey died at Annapolis Junction, and
Woodruff was wounded at Gettysburg, and afterwards died of wounds received
in the Richmond campaign, June 27, 1864.

The engagements of the First were as follows :

First Infantry (three months). — Bull Run, Virginia, July 21, 1861.

First Infantry (three years). — Mechanicsville, Virginia, June 26, 1862 ; Gaines'
Mills, Virginia, June 27, 1862 ; Peach Orchard, Virginia, June 29, 1862 ; Savage
Station, Virginia, June 29, 1862; Turkey Bend, Virginia, June 30, 1862;
White Oak Swamp, Virginia, June 30, 1862 ; Malvern Hill, Virginia, July 1,
1862; Harrison's Landing, Virginia, July 2, 1862; Gainsville, Virginia, August
29, 1862; 2d Bull Run, Virginia, August 30, 1862 ; Antietam, Maryland, Sep-
tember 17, 1862 ; Shepardstown Ford, Virginia, September 20, 1862 ; Snicker's
Gap, Virginia. November 14, 1862; Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 13,

42

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

14, 1862; United States Ford, Virginia, January 1, 1863; Chancellorsville,
Virginia, May 1-5, 1863; Kelley's Ford, Virginia, June 9, 1863; Ashby's Gap,
Virginia, June 21, 1863; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 2-4, 1863; Williams-
port, Maryland, July 12, 1863; Wapping Heights, Virginia, July 21, 1863;
Culpepper, Virginia, October 13, 1863 ; Brandy Station, Virginia, October 13,
1863; Bristoe Station, Virginia, October 14, 1863; Rappahannock Station, Vir-
ginia, November 7, 1863 ; Cross-Boads, Virginia, November 26, 1863 ; Mill Bun,
Virginia, November 29, 1863; Wilderness, Virginia, May 5-7, 1864; Laurel
Hill, Virginia, May 8, 1864 ; Po Biver, Virginia, May 10, 1864 ; Spottsylvania,
Virginia, May 12, 1864; Ny Biver, Virginia, May 21, 1864; North Anna, Vir-
ginia, May 23, 1864; Jericho Mills, Virginia, May 24, 1864; Noel's Turn, Vir-
ginia, May 26, 1864; Tolopotomy, Virginia, May 30, 1864; Magnolia Swamp,
Virginia, June 1, 1864; Bethesda Church, Virginia, June 2, 1864; Petersburg,
Virginia, June 18, 1864; Weldon Bailroad, Virginia, August 19-21, 1864 ;
Peeble's Farm, Virginia, September 30, 1864; Hatcher's Bun, Virginia, Septem-
ber 30, 1864; Nottaway Court-House, Virginia, December 8, 1864; Dabney's
Mills, or Hatcher's Bun, February 6, 7, 1865 ; Hatcher's Bun, Virginia, March
25, 1865; White Oak Boad, Virginia, March 29, 1865; Five Forks, Virginia,
April 1, 1865; Amelia Court-House, Virginia, April 5, 1865; High Bridge,
Virginia, April 6, 1865 ; Appomattox Court-House, Virginia, April 9, 1865 ;
siege of Petersburg, Virginia, from June 17, 1864, to April 3, 1865.

SECOND MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

The Second Infantry, under command of Colonel J. B. Bichardson, by whom it
had been organized, had among its constituent companies one from Battle Creek.
Company C, Captain Cornelius Byington, with much promptness followed the
First Begiment to the war in Virginia, and was in time to be present in the first
engagement, being in the brigade of Bichardson, which opened fire upon the
rebels at Blackburn's Ford on the 18th of July, 1861, and which covered the
retreat of the army from Bull Bun on the 21st following. The regiment, under
command of Colonel 0. M. Poe, participated in all of the engagements on the
Peninsula, first meeting the enemy on that campaign at Williamsburg on May 5,
1862, where it lost seventeen killed and thirty-eight wounded, and four missing;
at Fair Oaks on the 27th, at Charles City Cross-Boads on June 30, and at Mal-
vern Hill July 1. At Fair Oaks it lost ten killed and forty-seven wounded
while its bravery was so marked as to receive the following notice in the published
history of the time :

" Meantime, Heintzelman had sent forward Kearney to recover Casey's lost
ground, and a desperate fight was going on at the extreme left. The enemy had
been successfully held in front of Couch's old intrenched camp until Kearney's
division arrived, when he stayed the torrent of battle. One after another his gal-
lant regiments pushed forward, and pressed back the fiery rebels with more daring
than their own. Here the Fifty-fifth New York won new laurels, and Poe's
Second Michigan was bathed in blood. Five hundred of them charged across
the open field against ten times their number, and stopped them in mid career,
losing seventeen brave fellows in that one desperate essay." The Second was trans-
ferred to the western army, under Grant, in 1863; and after the surrender of
Vicksburg participated in General Sherman's pursuit of the rebel General John-
ston. The Second, on the 11th of July, became engaged with the enemy, making
one of the most daring and gallant charges of the war. Colonel Humphrey,
commanding the regiment, in his report thus details its movements on that occa-
sion : "At five a.m. I was ordered by Colonel Leasure, commanding the brigade,
to deploy my regiment as skirmishers on the left of the skirmish-line of the First
brigade, to keep my connection with it perfect, to be guided in the movements
of my line strictly by those of the regiment on my right, and to advance until I
drew the fire of the enemy's artillery. I at once deployed my regiment as directed,
and moved forward, meeting with only slight opposition from the enemy until
about six o'clock, when he opened a brisk fire along my whole line. We had
come up to the enemy, strongly posted in front of my right on a deep water-course,
and of my left in a heavy woods. For an hour a brisk skirmish was kept up.
The enemy made a determined resistance, but was gradually forced back toward
his support. At seven A.M. the order came down the line from the right to " For-
ward, double-quick !" The men at once advanced with a cheer, drove in the
enemy's skirmishers through their camps and into their reserves, strongly posted
in a deep ravine, charged and broke their reserve, and drove it up out of the
ravine into its main support, drawn up in line of battle on the top of the south
bank of the ravine ; charged under hot fire of musketry and artillery up the
steep bank against the main body, broke this line, and drove the enemy within
his works. We waited now for our support to come up, but on sending for it
were surprised to find we had none. The regiment on my right, for some
reason unknown to me, advanced but a short distance, then fell back on the
position left by it a few moments before. By some mistake, the three com-

panies (C, F, and H) on the left did not advance with the rest of the regiment
in this charge, which was made with about one hundred and seventy men. Fifty
of these, almost one-third, had fallen. The enemy was being reinforced and we
were entirely without support, with no connection on the right and no troops on
our left. Thus situated, to hold for any length of time the ground we had so
dearly won would be impossible. I therefore put my men under cover of the
bank of the ravine through which we had advanced, within twenty yards of the
enemy's works, and held the position until the wounded were carried to the rear,
and then, following the movement of the regiment on my right, fell back to the
line from which we had advanced an hour before." The Second was also specially
distinguished on several occasions during the siege of Knoxville, by Longstreet,
in 1863, and particularly so on the 24th of November, when, under command of
Major Cornelius Byington (Colonel Humphrey being in command of the brigade),
it so gallantly charged a strong force of rebels protected by intrenchments, and a
house which they occupied, driving them from their position, and leveling the
house and works to the ground. In the charge the regiment lost in killed and
wounded, out of one hundred and sixty-one officers and men engaged, eighty-six.
Among the killed were Lieutenants William Noble (adjutant) and Charles B.
Galpin, and Major Byington and Lieutenant Frank Zoellener mortally wounded.
This charge is handed down in the history of the day as among the most brilliant
of the war. In the spring of 1864 the Second returned with its corps to the
Army of the Potomac, taking part in the advance on Bichmond, where it most
signally distinguished itself in every battle of that terrible campaign, and losing
heavily at the battle of Williamsburg. The Second took into action only sixty
men, — four companies, two in command of Captain William Humphrey, and two
commanded by Captain W. J. Handy, — the rest being left behind, exhausted
with the quick march through the mud and rain ; yet they lost one out of every
five engaged,— the loss being seventeen killed and thirty-eight wounded and four
missing. The regiment was in the hottest of the fight. By the confessions of
prisoners, eight hundred of Berry's men (mostly Michigan) drove back, at the
point of the bayonet, one thousand six hundred rebels. The other companies of
the regiment were partially engaged.

Its battles and skirmishes during its service, which terminated July 29, 1865,
were as follows :

Blackburn's Ford, July 18, 1861 ; Bull Bun, Virginia, July 21, 1861 ; Siege of
Yorktown, Virginia, April 4 to May 4, 1862 ; Williamsburg, Virginia, May 5,

1862 ; Fair Oaks, Virginia, May 31 and June 1, 1862 ; near Bichmond, Virginia,
June 18, 1862 ; Glendale, Virginia, June 30, 1862 ; Malvern Hill, Virginia, July
1, 1862 ; Bull Bun (2d), Virginia, August 28-30, 1862 ; Chantilly, Virginia, Sep-
tember 1, 1862; Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 12-14, 1862; Siege of
Vicksburg, Mississippi, June 22 to July 4, 1863 ; Jackson, Mississippi, July 11-18,

1863 ; Blue Spring, Tennessee, October 10, 1863 ; Loudon, Tennessee, November
14, 1863; Lenoir Station, Tennessee, November 15, 1863; Campbell's Station.
Tennessee, November 16, 1863; Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee, November 17
to December 5, 1863 ; Knoxville, Tennessee, November 24, 1863 ; Fort Saunders,
Tennessee, November 29, 1863 ; Thurley's Ford, Tennessee, December 15, 1863 ;
Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, January 22, 1864 ; near Knoxville, Tennessee, Janu-
ary 24, 1864 ; Wilderness, Virginia, May 5-7, 1864; Ny Biver, Virginia, May
9, 1864; Spottsylvania, Virginia, May 10-12, 1864; Ox Ford, Virginia, May
23, 1864 ; North Anna, Virginia, May 24, 25, 1864; Tolopotomy, Virginia, May
30, 1864 ; Bethesda Church, Virginia, June 2, 3, 1864 ; Cold Harbor, Virginia,
June 7, 1864 ; Petersburg, Virginia, June 17, 18, 1864 ; the Crater, Virginia,
July 30, 1864; Weldon Bailroad, Virginia, August 19-21, 1864; Beam's
Station, Virginia, August 25, 1864 ; Poplar Springs Church, Virginia, Septem*
ber 30, 1864 ; Pegram Farm, Virginia, October 2, 1864 ; Boydton Boad, Virginia,
October 8, 1864 ; Hatcher's Bun, Virginia, October 27, 28, 1864 ; Fort Stead-
man, Virginia, March 25, 1865 ; capture of Petersburg, Virginia, April 3, 1865 ;
Siege of Petersburg, Virginia, from June 17, 1864, to April 3, 1865.

SIXTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

The peculiar regiment of Michigan was the Sixth Infantry, afterwards organized
as heavy artillery. This splendid and gallant regiment was peculiar by reason of
its entire isolation, almost amounting to exile, from the rest of the Michigan
troops, during the whole term of its faithful service. It left the State in August,
1861, commanded by Colonel F. W. Curtenius, under whose direction it was raised
and organized, to join the army in the field, but was detained at Baltimore, where
it remained on duty most of the following winter ; thence sailed to Ship Island,
Mississippi, and in April, 1862, left that place for New Orleans, constituting a
part of General Butler's force, and was one of the first regiments to occupy the
city on its surrender. Serving during its whole time in the extreme south, it
suffered much from the complaints incident to that climate, losing more men by
disease than any other regiment from this State. Three companies from Calhoun

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

43

County were members of this organization ; Company A, Captain — — ; Com-
pany E, Marshall, Captain James Winters ; Company I, Albion, Captain Harrison
Soule. The battles of Baton Rouge and Port Hudson, prominent in the history
of the rebellion, are among the most conspicuous in which the Sixth was engaged,
and were important in their results, being most decided victories, securing to the
Union arms strong positions on the line of the Mississippi river, and which were
held during the war.

At Baton Rouge, August 5, 1862, while that place was being heavily attacked
by the rebel force in very superior numbers under Breckenridge, the regiment,
then in command of Captain Charles E. Clark, received and repulsed the principal
attack made on that day by the troops led by General Clark, of Mississippi, against
the right wing of the Union forces, which, if successful, would have caused the
loss of a large part of our artillery and given the enemy a most advantageous
position, and might have led to very damaging results. The importance of the
repulse was acknowledged by General Butler in a congratulatory order issued soon
after the aiFair, in which the regiment was highly complimented for its gallant
and valuable services, conspicuous bravery, and most determined fighting.

In General Butler's order is the following : " The Sixth Michigan fought rather
by detachments than as a regiment, but deserves the fullest commendation for the
gallant behavior of its officers and men. Companies A, B, and F, under com-
mand of Captain Cordon, receive special mention for the coolness and courage
with which they supported and retook Brown's battery, routing the Fourth Louisi-
ana and capturing their colors, which the regiment has leave to send to its native
State. Captain Charles E. Clark, acting lieutenant-colonel Sixth Michigan, pre-
vented the enemy from flanking our right, bringing his command at the critical
moment to the support of Nim's battery. Lieutenant Howell, Company F, Sixth
Michigan, and Lieutenant A. T. Ralph, acting adjutant, for intrepidity ; Captain
Spitzey, Sixth Michigan, in command of the company of pickets, who handsomely
held in check the enemy's advance ; the fearless conduct of Lieutenant Howell,
Company F, and Sergeant Thayer, Company A, Sixth Michigan Regiment, after
they were wounded, in supporting Lieutenant Brown's battery, are specially com-
plimented. Captain Soule and Lieutenant Fassett, Company I, Sixth Michigan,
as skirmishers were wounded, and deserve special notice for the steadiness of their
command, which lost heavily in killed and wounded."

Lieutenant G. Weitzel (afterwards major-general), then chief engineer Depart-
ment of the Gulf, and present with the troops in the engagement, says in his
official report, " Three companies of the Sixth Michigan covered themselves with
glory in recovering from a large force two guns, posted on the right of the Mag-
nolia cemetery, which temporarily were left by our forces. These same three
companies captured the colors of the Fourth Louisiana, but only after they had
shot down four successive color-bearers."

The regiment commanded by Colonel Thomas S. Clark formed part of the force
of General Banks which invested Port Hudson, and which compelled its surrender.
Colonel Clark, in a report, thus mentions the part taken by his regiment on this
occasion : "On the 23d of May, 1863, arriving before that stronghold, the regi-
ment was placed in the most advanced position, and maintained it until the sur-
render, on the 9th of July. During the siege of this formidable place it partici-
pated in three desperate assaults upon its works. In the assault of the 27th of
May the regiment, commanded by Colonel Clark, led the division of General T.
W. Sherman, and lost more than one-third of the men it had engaged, including
Lieutenant Fred. T. Clark, who fell while gallantly leading Company D to the
v charge. In this affair Captain Montgomery led a forlorn hope of two hundred
volunteers belonging to the regiment. An assault was made on the 14th of June,
when the Sixth, then commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Bacon, advanced by de-
tachments, the leading detachment commanded by Captain John Cordon, one by
Captain Stark following, with the balance of the regiment bringing up the rear.
On the 29th of June the regiment, then commanded by Captain Cordon, again
advanced to the assault, when thirty-five of the regiment, comprising a forlorn
hope, assailed the enemy's works at a point known as < the citadel.' The party suc-
ceeded in gaining the ditch, but were overpowered and driven back, with a loss
of eight killed and nine wounded. Among the killed was Sergeant Madison 0.
Walker, who led the detachment."

The list of battles and skirmishes participated in by the regiment during its
service, terminating August 30, 1865, is as follows:

Sewell's Point, Virginia, March 5, 1862 ; Port Jackson, Louisiana, April 25,
1862 ; Vicksburg, Mississippi, May 20, 1862 ; Grand Gulf, Mississippi, May 27,
1862 ; Amite River, Mississippi^ June 20, 1862 ; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, August
5 17.' 1862 ; Bayou Teche, Louisiana, January 14, 1863 ; Ponchetoola, Louis-
iana, March 24-26, 1863; Barataria, Louisiana, April 7, 1863; Tickfarr River,
Louisiana, April 12, 1863 ; Amite River, Mississippi, May 7, 1863 ; Ponchetoola,
Louisiana, May 16, 1863; siege of Port Hudson, May 23 to June 30, 1863;
Tunica Bayou, Louisiana, November 8, 1863 ; Ashton, Arkansas, July 24, 1864;

Fort Morgan, Alabama, August 23, 1864; Spanish Fort, Alabama, April, 1865;
Fort Blakely, Alabama, April, 1865 ; Fort Huger, Alabama, April, 1865 ; Fort
Tracey, Alabama, April, 1865 ; siege of Mobile, Alabama, from March 20 to
April 12, 1865.

TWELFTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

The bloody battle of Shiloh, April 6 and 7, 1862, first tried the metal of the
Twelfth Infantry, and substantially established its reputation as a fighting regi-
ment. Leaving the State, in command of Colonel Francis Quinn, on March 18,
it hurriedly reached Pittsburg Landing barely in time to participate in that im-
portant engagement. A portion of the regiment was among the troops that first
discovered and engaged the enemy in his advance upon the Union lines; and this '
timely discovery, and their persistent opposition to his advance, without doubt
saved their division from entire capture, and must have done much towards
saving the whole army from a complete surprise. The Twelfth was in Colonel
Peabody's brigade of Prentiss' division, which occupied the position just attacked
by the rebel forces. During the night preceding the battle of the 6th, Colonel
Peabody had been advised by Lieutenant-Colonel Graves, of the Twelfth Mich-
igan, of the approach of the enemy, and on this information he took the respon-
sibility to order from his brigade two companies of the Twelfth Michigan, com-
manded respectively by Captains Graves and Cravath, and two companies of the
Twenty-fifth Missouri, as a reconnoissance, the whole under command of Major
Powell, Twenty-fifth Missouri, who, about three o'clock on the morning of the
6th, met the advance troops of the enemy and fought them until daylight, gradu-
ally falling back until he reached the Twelfth Michigan and Twenty-fifth Mis-
souri, which had advanced some distance in front of their color-line. These two
regiments fought the enemy until overpowered, when they fell back to their color-
line, reformed again, and defended their line until again overpowered, when they
retired to a third position, which was held until the division was completely sur-
rounded and a large portion of it made prisoners. The Twelfth escaped capture,
maintaining its organization, and next day engaged the enemy, losing in both days
two hundred and sixty-six killed, wounded, and missing, including, among the
mortally wounded, Lieutenant Alexander G. Davis, who died at Cincinnati on the
21st of April following. The regiment, in December following, was guarding
the Mississippi railroad from Hickory valley to near Bolivar. Tennessee, with its
headquarters at Middleburg. On the 24th of that month the force at Middle-
burg, consisting of one hundred and fifteen officers and men, in command of
Colonel W. H. Graves, was attacked by a large force of Yan Dorn's cavalry,
consisting of three brigades, in all about three thousand strong, by which they
were surrounded and their surrender demanded. Colonel Graves, in his official
report, says, "The whole force of General Van Dorn was between five and six
thousand, about one-half of which fought us, the balance holding the horses.
They lost (as near as I can recollect) one hundred and thirty-five men, killed,
wounded, and prisoners; among the latter three officers wounded, one mortally.
There were six of my men wounded through the port-holes, one killed, and thirteen
taken prisoners, mostly on picket along the railroad. Over one thousand rounds
were fired by the men of the Twelfth during the action." For this gallant and suc-
cessful defense of Middleburg, so remarkable for the disparity in numbers, the regi-
ment (with several others along that line of railroad that had successfully defended
their posts) was complimented for bravery by General Grant in general orders,
and declared by him to be deserving of the thanks of the army, which was in a
measure dependent for its supplies on the road they so nobly defended. There
was one company in the Twelfth from Calhoun County, Company D, First Lieu-
tenant Charles E. Harvey, of Burlington.

The battles and skirmishes of the regiment were as follows :
Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, April 6 and 7, 1862; Iuka, Mississippi,
September 19, 1862; Metamora, Tennessee, October 5, 1862; Middleburg,
Tennessee, December 24, 1862 ; Mechanicsville, Mississippi, June 4, 1863; siege
of Vicksburg, Mississippi, June and July, 1863 ; siege of Little Rock, Arkansas,
August and September, 1863; Clarendon, Arkansas, June 26, 1864; Gregory's
Landing, September 4, 1864.

TWENTIETH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

The Twentieth Regiment was recruited from the counties of Jackson, Washte-
naw, Calhoun, Eaton, and Ingham.* Its camp was at Jackson, with Tidus Liver-
more, Esq., as commandant. It left Jackson for Washington, September 1, 1862,
in command of Colonel A. W. Williams, and was soon after attached to the First
brigade, First division, Ninth corps, of the Army of the Potomac. Early in
1863 the regiment left the Army of the Potomac with the corps, and commenced
the campaign in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. There were two compa-
nies from Calhoun County in the Twentieth ; Company I, Captain C. C. Dodge,
Marshall, and Company C, Captain G. C. Barnes, Battle Creek. At the
Horse-shoe bend of the Cumberland river, in Kentucky, three hundred of the men

44

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

of the Twentieth, including the Calhoun companies, with one hundred dismounted
men of the Eleventh Kentucky Cavalry, and one piece of artillery, without supports,
with retreat cut off by a stream one hundred and fifty yards wide, deep and rapid,
without intrench men ts, repulsed the charge of a large brigade, and then in turn
drove them with the bayonet ; then maintained a desperate fight with an entire
division of nearly four thousand men, and finally withdrew from the field in
good order, saving the piece of artillery, bringing off the wounded, and recrossing
the river in face of the enemy. In this battle the loss of the Twentieth was forty-
four killed, wounded, and missing, including among the killed Lieutenant William
M. Green, a valuable officer, while the rebels acknowledged a loss of one hundred
and seventy-five in killed. For its gallant conduct on this occasion the regiment
received the highest commendation from General Burnside, and his hearty thanks.

From Captain Preston's address on Decoration Day, at Battle Creek, in 1876,
we clip the following history of the Twentieth Regiment :

" Marching south from the l Horse-shoe Bend,' the regiment arrived in the
vicinity of Vicksburg, then besieged by Grant, on the 14th of June. Having
so recently constituted a part of the Army of the Potomac, the men were fre-
quently jeered by the veterans of Donaldson and Shiloh, then surrounding the
doomed city of Yicksburg, and that familiar sentence which so often formed the
burden of dispatches from the national capital — 'All quiet on the Potomac' — fre-
quently saluted their ears.

" Feeling most keenly the sting of this insinuating remark, Grant was most
earnestly importuned for the privilege of taking their places in the besieging lines,
that they might show to their tormentors that the barren result of their arduous
services and incessant efforts on the historic line of the Potomac was not from lack
of soldierly qualities or patriotic devotion. But at that time Grant had other work
for them. It was resolved, however, that no opportunity should be lost to vindi-
cate their wounded honor. The regiment, then forming a part of Wilcox's division
and Humphrey's brigade, was employed during the siege in guarding the rear of the
besieging army, and in preventing reinforcements or supplies reaching Pemberton.

" Vicksburg fell on the 4th day of July, 1863. Immediately an army was put
in motion, composed in part of Wilcox's division, to secure the overthrow of
Johnson, and to capture the city of Jackson. The enemy was driven rapidly
back upon Jackson, and were found strongly posted in an outer line of works,
prepared to dispute the farther advance of our forces, and ready to give blow for
blow. Here, then, was the opportunity for which the division had so impatiently
waited. With a cheer, the order was received to charge the enemy and drive him
back upon his main line of works. Under the immediate eye of Sherman, who,
with his staff, occupied an eminence overlooking the entire field, the line was
formed for the onset. With the precision of a dress parade or a gala day review,
the regiments fell into their places without the slightest precipitation and with the
most provoking coolness.

" Now behold how calmly men can march into the jaws of death. At a right-
shoulder-shift, the line moved across the field under the peltings of murderous
fire, without a waver, without a break, as if a part of some huge machine impelled
by an invisible force. The enemy's works were carried at the point of the
bayonet, and the men of the Potomac felt their vindication complete on receiving
the compliments of Sherman, who declared that he had never beheld so grand
and so effective a charge. The capture of Jackson soon followed ; and in the
early part of autumn the Twentieth and Second, both in Humphrey's brigade,
were again back in East Tennessee.

" After the siege of Knoxville the regiment again marched to Washington,
ready to participate in the long series of bloody encounters from the Wilderness
to Appomattox, resulting in the final overthrow of the rebellion. The battle of
the Wilderness commenced on the 3d of May, and continued four days. During
this time the regiment was frequently engaged, but without severe loss. On the
12th of May the regiment reached Spottsylvania, and were hotly engaged, losing
heavily. In a charge, Maynard was killed and Barnes narrowly escaped. In the
same battle Piper and Freeleigh, of the Sharp-shooters, fell ; and from that time
onward Battle Creek sorrowfully watched the fall of her brave volunteers upon
almost every battle-field.

" Crossing the James river on the 12th of June, and hurrying on towards Peters-
burg, the regiment, on the 17th, were hotly engaged, and at about ten o'clock at
night, in a charge upon the enemy's works. Rhines and Knights, of the First
Michigan Sharp-shooters, were both slain almost at the same moment. On the
next day, the 18th of June, the painful record of our fallen heroes was still
further enlarged. In another effort to storm the enemy's works, Barnes fell,
mortally wounded, and ten minutes after, Hicks was instantly killed. And then
the slaughter in Company C had to stop for want of further victims. On calling
the roll of the company, only ten men could be mustered for duty of the sixty
with which it entered the battle of the Wilderness. Brown, who went out in the
company, died from disease contracted in the line of his duty, at Frederick City,

Maryland, January 29, 1863 ; Barney, after honorable services, died at home,
from wounds received in the battle of Cold Harbor."

While this regiment, during its term of service, displayed persistent firmness
and true courage on all occasions, perhaps there was no position in which it was
placed that exhibited the bravery and endurance of the men to more advantage
than at the charge made at the " Crater," or springing of the mine before Peters-
burg, July 30, 1864. That affair, although resulting in a needless and miserable
failure, was one of the most daring and desperate undertakings of the war, involv-
ing the advance of nearly a whole corps, closely massed, over open ground, and
exposed to a murderous and withering fire, driving large portions of the force
into the river, which soon became a perfect slaughter-pen, and from which there
was no escape except through the leaden storm which led to certain death.
The battles and skirmishes of the regiment were as follows :
Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 12-14, 1862 ; Horse-Shoe Bend, Ken-
tucky, May 10, 1863; siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, June 22 to July 4, 1863;
Jackson, Mississippi, July 11-18, 1863 ; Blue Springs, Tennessee, October 10,
1863; Loudon, Tennessee, November 14, 1863; Lenoir Station, Tennessee,
November 15, 1863; Campbell's Station, Tennessee, November 16, 1863; siege
of Knoxville, Tennessee, November 17 to December 5, 1863 ; Fort Saunders,
Tennessee, December 15, 1863 ; Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, January 22,
1864 ; Wilderness, Virginia, May 5-7, 1864; Ny River, Virginia, May 9, 1864;
Spottsylvania, Virginia, May 10-12, 1864; North Anna, Virginia, May 24, 25,
1864; Bethesda Church, Virginia, June 2, 3, 1864; Cold Harbor, Virginia,
June 7, 1864; Petersburg, Virginia, June 17, 18, 1864; the Crater, Virginia,
July 30, 1864; Weldon Railroad, Virginia, August 19-21, 1864; Ream's Station,
Virginia, August 25, 1864; Poplar Spring Church, Virginia, September 30, 1864;
Pegram Farm, Virginia, October 2, 1864 ; Boydton Road, Virginia, October 8,
1864; Hatcher's Run, Virginia, October 27, 28, 1864; Fort Steadman, Virginia,
March 25, 1864; capture of Petersburg, Virginia, April 3, 1865 ; siege of Peters-
burg, Virginia, June 17 to April 3, 1865.

TWENTY-FIFTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

The Twenty-fifth, recruited under the superintendence of Hon. H. G. Wells,
commandant of camp, — a splendid and well-disciplined regiment, commanded by
Colonel O. H. Moor, then a captain in the Sixth United States Infantry, — left
Kalamazoo, for the field in Kentucky, September 29, 1862, having in its ranks
one company from Calhoun, — Company A, Captain C. B. Pratt, of Marshall, —
and on December 27 following first tested the realities of war by engaging the
enemy, under the rebel General Pegram, at Mumfordsville, Kentucky, thus early
commencing a career of fighting for the Union which it nobly and forcibly main-
tained during its whole term of service, ending with the war. The regiment
was specially distinguished on July 4, 1863, at Tebb's, near Green river bridge,
Kentucky, where it most gallantly repulsed an overwhelming force with heavy
loss. About July 1, Colonel Moor was stationed, with five companies of his
regiment, on the north side of Green river, ten miles north of Columbia, on the
main road running from Columbia to Lebanon, Kentucky, and on the second of
July was advised of the fact that the rebel General John H. Morgan was about
crossing the Cumberland river to invade the State with a cavalry force of from
three to four thousand men. Being left to exercise his own discretion indepen-
dently, and there being no Union troops nearer than at a post thirty miles' dis-
tant, he felt that it was his duty to retard the progress of the great rebel raider
if but for a few hours, as they might prove precious hours to the country. He
might have retreated with entire success, but from patriotic motives he chose to
fight where he could scarcely entertain the hope that he and many others would
ever live to tell the story of that terrible battle.

After surveying the surrounding country, he selected a strong position for a
battle-field on the south side of Green river, about two miles from the encamp-
ment, in a horse-shoe bend of the river, through which the road ran on which the
rebel forces were advancing. This chosen battle-field or ground, which was at the
narrows entering the bend of the river, afforded high bluff banks, which protected
the flanks of the command, and also compelled the rebels to fight him upon his
own front.

On the evening of the 3d of July, General Morgan encamped with his entire
command about five miles south of Green river, and Colonel Moore after dark
advanced his command of five companies, numbering less than three hundred men,
about two miles towards the enemy, leaving the river in his rear, and occupied the
ground which he had previously selected, and prepared for the battle. The de-
fense, which had been completed that night, consisted of some felled trees on the
battle-line, which was in the rear of an open field, and was intended more particu-
larly as an obstruction to the advance of cavalry, while to the front, about one
hundred yards in the open field, was thrown up a temporary earthwork, which
was intended to check the advance of the enemy, and more especially to command

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

45

the position where the rebels would evidently plant their battery. This work was
not intended to be held against charges of a superior force, on account of the
flanks not being strong, and was occupied by only about seventy-five men, who
were instructed that when it became necessary to abandon the work it should be
done by flanking to the right and left from the centre, so as to unmask the reserve
force on the battle-line, and expose the enemy to their fire. This work was located,
in anticipation of its capture by the rebels, a little down the slope of the field, so
that when it was in possession of the enemy it would be useless, and leave him
exposed to a deadly fire.

At the gray of morning the fire of the rebels upon the pickets resounded
through the woods, and the entire rebel division, under General Morgan, was
pressing upon the front. The fire was returned with spirit as the pickets retired
to the breastwork, where they joined about seventy-five of their comrades already
in the advance work, and there, with their united fire as sharp-shooters, held the
enemy in check, without exhibiting numbers and the real object of their work.
The rebel artillery of four pieces had gained the anticipated position, and at once
opened fire with some effect. When General Morgan suspended firing, and, under
flag of truce, demanded the surrender of the force, Colonel Moore returned for
his reply, " Present my compliments to General Morgan, and say to him that this
being the 4th of July, I cannot entertain the proposition to surrender,'' and the
battle was renewed.

No sooner had the rebel battery re-opened fire than Colonel Moore commanded
the force to " rise up and pick off those gunners at the battery." No sooner was
the command given than a deliberate and deadly fire by rank was delivered, which
silenced the battery. Colonel Johnson's brigade then charged the work, and the
little command abandoned it, as previously instructed ; and when the rebels reached
it they found that it availed them nothing against the deadly fire which was poured
into them from the main force on the battle-line in the timber.

The rebel foe, with a hideous yell, charged across the open field a number of
times in the face of a terrible fire, which repulsed them on each occasion with
severe loss. The conflict was almost a hand-to-hand struggle, with nothing but a
line of felled trees separating the combatants. At the same time the rebels were
engaged in cutting out a gorge leading through the precipitous bluff into the
river bottom, which had been obstructed with felled timber. The entrance was
finally effected, and a regiment commanded by Colonel Chenault opened fire upon
the right flank of the line of Union troops.

This was a most critical and trying moment. The rebels had gained an impor-
tant point : to defeat it was of the utmost importance. A company had been
held in reserve for any emergency which might arise during the battle ; it was now
brought forward, deployed as skirmishers across the river bottom, with the right
flank extending beyond the rebel line, and presented the appearance of being the
advance line of reinforcements. The strength of Colonel Moore's command was
a matter of doubt with the rebels, rendered more so by his having instructed his
men to keep quiet and pour in as rapid and deadly a fire as possible. As cheering
was suppressed, nothing but the efficacy of the firing afforded ground for estima-
ting their strength ; and when Colonel Moore brought forward and manoeuvred
the reserve company with the shrill notes of his bugle, it had the desired effect
of impressing the rebels with the idea that reinforcements of cavalry or artillery
were advancing, and by the bold front and deliberate firing of the line of skir-
mishers, the rebel command in the river bottom was routed, the rebel colonel com-
manding killed, and they were promptly driven back through the gorge through
which they entered, disheartened and defeated. New courage inspired the heroic
little band, who had sustained eight determined charges upon their front, when
the attack upon their right flank was defeated. The enemy, having met with a
heavy loss, after a battle of four hours' duration retreated, leaving a number of killed
and wounded upon the field greater than the entire number of the patriotic little
band that opposed them ; among the number of killed and wounded were twenty-
two commissioned officers.

The rebel command effected a crossing six miles down the river, and proceeded
on their march. It was his intention, as General Morgan declared, to capture the
city of Louisville ; but this unexpected and terrible repulse cost him more than
twelve hours' delay, and caused him, which fact he stated, to change his plans, and
to abandon his attack upon Louisville. By this brilliantly-fought battle the city
of Louisville was saved from sack and pillage, and the government from the loss
of an immense amount of property, consisting of munitions of war and army
supplies amounting to the value of several millions of dollars. This splendid
victory was acknowledged by Major-General Hartsuff in the following order :

Headquarters, Twenty-third Army Corps,
Lexington, Kj., July 17, 1863.
General Order No. 12.

The general commanding the corps extends his thanks to the two hundred

officers and soldiers of the Twenty-fifth Michigan regiment, under Colonel 0. H.

Moore, who so successfully resisted, by their gallant and heroic bravery, the attacks
of a vastly superior force of the enemy, under the rebel general John H. Morgan,
at Tebb's Bend, on Green river, on the 4th of July, 1863, in which they killed
one-fourth as many of the enemy as their own little band amounted to, and
wounded a number equal to their own.
By command of Major-General Hartsuff.

George B. Drake, A. A. G.

The legislature of Kentucky also acknowledged the services of Colonel Moore
and his command on that occasion in complimentary resolutions.
The battles and skirmishes of the regiment were as follows :
Mumfordsville, Kentucky, December 27, 1862 ; Tebb's Bend, Kentucky, July
4, 1863; Kingston, Tennessee, December 29, 1863; Tunnel Hill, Georgia, May
7, 8, 1864; Rocky Face, Georgia, May 9, 10, 1864; Resaca, Georgia, May 13,<
14, 1864; Cassville, Georgia, May 19, 1864 ; Etowah River, Georgia, May 20,
1864; Kingston, Georgia, May 27, 1864; Altoona, Georgia, May 26-29, 1864;
Pine Mountain, Georgia, June 3, 7, 1864 ; Lost Mountain, Georgia, June 10-18,
1864; Culp's Farm, Georgia, June 22, 1864; Franklin, Tennessee, November
20, 1864; Kenesaw, Georgia, June 23-29, 1864 ; Nickajack, Georgia, July 1,
1864 ; Chattahoochie River, Georgia, July 9, 1864 ; Decatur, Georgia, July 18,
19, 1864 ; Atlanta, Georgia, July 20, 22, 28, 1864 ; East Point, Georgia, August
3, 1864 ; Ultoy Creek, Georgia, August 6, 1864 ; siege of Atlanta, Georgia, July 22
to August 25, 1864 ; Jonesboro, Georgia, September 3,4, 1864 ; Rome, Georgia,
October 12, 1864; Cedar Bluffs, Alabama, October 23, 1864; Pine Creek, Ten-
nessee, November 26, 1864; Nashville, Tennessee, December 15, 16, 1864.

TWENTY-EIGHTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

The Twenty-eighth, raised and rendezvoused at Marshall, under the direction of
Honorable S. S. Lacy, as commandant of camp, left the State for the field in Ten-
nessee, October 26, 1864, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Deles Phil-
lips. Company A was largely recruited in Calhoun County ; Captain, N. J. Frink.
The regiment arrived at Louisville, Kentucky, on the 29th, and on November 10
it was ordered to Camp Nelson, Kentucky, for the purpose of guarding a wagon-
train from that point to Nashville, where it arrived on the 5th of December, and
was assigned to temporary duty at that post. The advance of Hood on Nash-
ville soon brought the Twenty-eighth to face the realities of war, and under the
command of Colonel W. W. Wheeler it participated in the defense of that place
by General Thomas, from the 12th to the 16th of that month, when it fully
established a reputation as a gallant fighting regiment, and at once reached the
uniform high standard of Michigan troops. After the battle of Nashville the
regiment was attached to the Twenty-third corps, which was soon after sent to
the Atlantic sea-board to constitute a part of the force concentrating in the vi-
cinity of Wilmington, intended to co-operate with General Sherman's army on its
approach to the coast. The regiment belonged to the Second brigade, First divi-
sion (Ruger's), and arrived at Morehead city February 24, 1865, and on March
2 moved with its division towards Kingston and joined General Cox. Meeting
the enemy at Wise Forks, the Twenty-eighth, commanded by Colonel Wheeler,
took an active part in the battles of the 8th, 9th, and 10th at that point. On
the 8th the regiment was engaged in heavy skirmishing during that entire day and
the night following. On the 9th the enemy pressed Cox's lines strongly without
making an assault, and at the same time attempted to turn his right, but failed
on account of a prompt reinforcement, of which the Twenty-eighth formed a
part. On the morning of the 10th the enemy made a fierce and determined
charge upon the left, breaking the lines, but were repulsed. The brigade to
which the Twenty-eighth belonged charged the rebels on the double-quick, driv-
ing them back and taking over three hundred prisoners, among whom were sev-
eral field-officers. About two o'clock the same day the rebels made a heavy and
desperate onset on the left and centre of General Cox, but most signally failed, the
point having been strongly and promptly reinforced from the right. The Twenty-
eighth, with its brigade, being among the first to arrive, fought the enemy most
gallantly for about two hours, when they were most decisively repulsed, leaving
their dead and wounded and a large number of prisoners, and during the night
they fell back across the Neuse, burning the bridge in their rear.

ENGINEERS AND MECHANICS REGIMENT.

This regiment rendezvoused at Marshall, where it was mustered into service
October 29, 1861. There were two full companies from Calhoun County in it;
one from Albion, Company A, Captain John B. Yates, and one from Marshall,
Company K, Captain Emory O. Crittenton. It was composed principally of
artisans of different trades. " It is but justice to this regiment to state a fact
generally conceded by the whole western army, that a more useful regiment or
one performing more valuable service was not found in that great army, as during

46

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

its entire service, ending with the surrender of Lee and Johnston, including the
great Sherman campaign, scarcely a bridge was built or a road opened for the
use of the western army that was not either wholly accomplished or aided by
this regiment. While it was at all times ready and expeditious in the perform-
ance of the legitimate duties of an engineer regiment, it never failed as a gallant
fighting force when opportunity offered ; first meeting the enemy at Mill Springs,
in Kentucky, January 19, 1862 ; then in Mississippi, at Farmington, May 9 ; at
Corinth the 10th, and at Perryville, Kentucky, in the same year, where its repu-
tation as a fighting regiment was fully established. But at Lavergne, Tennessee,
January 1, 1863, it was most signally distinguished, and its gallant conduct in
that battle gives it a most enviable page in the history of the war." At the battle
of Stone River, January 1, 1863, the regiment distinguished itself grandly.

A correspondent at the time says, " The scene was at times thrilling beyond
description. The rebel horde, exasperated at the successful resistance of the little
force, dashed their horses against the circular brush-fence, which was only breast-
high, with infuriated shouts and curses. But the Michigan troops were cool and
determined ; they loaded fast and aimed well ; and, as the troopers rushed on, upon
all sides they were met with staggering volleys almost at the muzzle of the mus-
kets. Horses and riders recoiled again and again until they despaired, and soon
swept away through the dense forests, leaving over fifty of their dead upon the
field, who were buried by our forces. The ground all around that small circle
of brush was strewn with dead horses of the rebel troopers, and with their clothing^
guns, etc. Truly, this was one of the most gallant affairs of the campaign."

Mr. Greeley, in his excellent work, " The American Conflict," notices Colonel
Innes' extraordinary defense at Lavergne, and says, —

" On the whole, the enemy's operations in the rear of our army during this
memorable conflict (battle of Stone River) reflect no credit on the intelligence
and energy with which they were resisted. ' The silver lining of this cloud' is a
most gallant defense, made on the 1st of January, by Colonel Innes, First Michi-
gan Engineers and Mechanics, only three hundred and ninety-one strong, who
had taken post on high ground near Lavergne, and formed such a barricade of
cedars, etc., as they hurriedly might. Here they were attacked at two P.M. by
Wharton's Cavalry, whom they successfully resisted and beat off. Wharton's
oflicial report is their best eulogium. He was in command of six or eight regi-
ments." Wharton says : A regiment of infantry, under Colonel Innes, also was sta-
tioned in a cedar brake and fortifications near this point. I caused the battery
under Lieutenant Pike, who acted with great gallantry, to open on it. The fire,
at a range of not more than four hundred yards, was kept up for more than an
hour, and must have resulted in great damage to the enemy. I caused the enemy
to be charged on three sides at the same time by Colonels Cox and Smith and
Lieutenant-Colonel Malone, and the charge was repeated four times ; but the
enemy was so strongly posted that it was found impossible to dislodge him."
The regiment lost only two killed and twelve wounded ; while the rebel loss, as
estimated at the time, was something over a hundred in killed and wounded.
General Rosecrans, in his official report, gave the regiment credit for having suc-
cessfully repulsed ten times its own number on that occasion.

The following is a list of the engagements participated in by the regiment :
Mill Springs, Kentucky, January 19, 1862 ; Farmington, Mississippi, May 9,
1862; Siege of Corinth, May 10-31, 1862; Perryville, Kentucky, October 8,
1862; Lavergne, Tennessee, January 1, 1863; Chattanooga, Tennessee, October
6, 1863; Siege of Atlanta, Georgia, July 22 to September 2, 1864; Savannah,
Georgia, December 11-21, 1864; Bentonville, North Carolina, March 19, 1865.

SECOND MICHIGAN CAVALRY.

This regiment rendezvoused at Grand Rapids, Colonel F. W. Kellogg command-
ing. One company from Calhoun County, Company M, Captain S. H. Gorham,
was mustered into the service with it October 2, 1861.

This regiment was led into the field by Colonel, afterwards General, Gordon
Granger, and was commanded at the battle of Shiloh by Colonel, now Lieutenant-
General, Philip H. Sheridan.

Perhaps none of its many engagements will awaken in the minds of the mem-
bers of the regiment more vivid recollections than that of Booneville, July 1,
1862, where it most signally distinguished itself.

During the last week of June, 1862, Colonel Sheridan, while his regiment was
stationed at Corinth, was ordered with his brigade, consisting of the Second
Michigan (his own regiment), the Second Iowa Cavalry, Colonel Hatch, and two
pieces of artillery, supported by two companies of infantry, to relieve a brigade
stationed at Booneville, Mississippi, some twenty miles south of Corinth, on the
Mobile and Ohio railroad, being at that time the extreme outpost of the army in
that direction. The movement was duly accomplished so far as the cavalry was
concerned, but the artillery and its support did not arrive at their destination
until in the evening of the 1st of July. The rebel General Chalmers, then in

that vicinity, gaining information from citizens regarding the strength of the
command at Booneville, and expecting to make an easy conquest, attacked Sher-
idan's pickets at eight a.m. on July 1 with (as was afterwards ascertained) seven
thousand mounted men. At that hour there was but one company on picket,
Company K, Second Michigan Cavalry, commanded by Captain A. P. Campbell.
Taking advantage of the cover of the woods, he checked the enemy long enough
to receive a reinforcement of three companies, numbering only from thirty to fifty
men each. The ground, although presenting advantages for defense in woods
and small hills, yet had one disadvantage in having numerous roads centering on
Booneville, by which the enemy could approach in almost any direction. The
Second Michigan Cavalry was armed at that time with Colt's revolving rifle and
pistol, making twelve shots to a man, either of them very destructive at from
twenty-five to eighty rods. The men of the regiment had been drilled by Colonels
Granger and Sheridan to fight mounted and dismounted, either as cavalry or
sharp-shooters, as the nature of the engagement might demand.

When, therefore, they were attacked by Chalmers, and his fire returned with
so much power and effect from troops on foot, he thought he had been misin-
formed as to the strength of the force at Booneville. He advanced with double
lines dismounted, and double columns in either flank mounted, with lines ex-
tended far enough to swing round on either flank, rendering the position of Cap-
tain Campbell in great danger of being surrounded and his force captured, while
a solid column charged in the centre on the road. Their charge was met gal-
lantly, by comparatively a mere handful of men, with such effect that they stag-
gered back, and many fell almost at the muzzles of the rifles. Taking advantage
of their momentary wavering, a new position was chosen a few rods to the rear,
and Campbell was again in readiness to meet them. Inch by inch the ground
was contested by the desperate fighting of the Second Michigan, nobly protected
on the flank by the Second Iowa. Every man seemed to know his strength, and
to take pride in using it to the fullest extent. When a charge was made by the
enemy, instead of taking to their horses, which were kept under cover a few rods
in the rear, they emptied their rifles of six shots at long range, then drew their
revolvers, and before they had given them six more the enemy never failed to
turn to the rear in confusion.

This continued until about two P.M., the command having fallen back about a
mile and a half till within half a mile of the camp, when Colonel Sheridan, find-
ing the enemy most determined and affairs becoming critical, viewing at a glance
the situation, ordered one battalion by a circuitous route to charge the enemy in
the rear, — two hundred men to charge seven thousand ! yet they did it gallantly.
At the same time a supply train arriving from Corinth, Sheridan ordered the en-
gineer to give a lively and cheering blast with his whistle, and the reserve to yell
with a will, thus leading the enemy to believe that reinforcements were arriving.
He withdrew his force to Tupelo, and left Sheridan and his handful of brave men
masters of the field. Next day one hundred and twenty-five of the enemy's killed
were buried, and numbers of his wounded were left at houses in the neighborhood,
and he carried off full loads of wounded in his ambulances. The Second Michi-
gan lost forty-one in killed and wounded.
Its battles and skirmishes were as follows :

Point Pleasant, Missouri, March 9, 1862; Tiptonville, Missouri, March 9,
1862; New Madrid, Missouri, March 13, 1862; Island No. 10, Missouri,
March 14 to April 7, 1862; Pine Hill, Mississippi, May 2,1862; Monterey,
Mississippi, May 3, 1862 ; Farmington, Mississippi, May 5, 1862 ; Siege of
Corinth, Mississippi, May 10-30, 1862; Booneville, Mississippi, June 1, 1862;
Blackland, Mississippi, June 5, 1862 ; Baldwin, Mississippi, June, 1862 ; Boone-
ville, Mississippi, July 1, 1862; Rienzi, Mississippi, August, 1862; Perryville,
Kentucky, October 8, 1862 ; Harrodsburg, Kentucky, October 10, 1862 ; Lan-
caster, Kentucky, October 12, 1862 ; Rocastle River, Kentucky, October, 1862 ;
Estill, Virginia, 1862 ; Blountsville, Tennessee, 1862 ; Zollicoffer, Tennessee,
1862; Watauga, Tennessee, 1862; Jonesville, Virginia, 1862; Bacon Creek,
Kentucky, December 24, 1862 ; Glasgow, Kentucky, 1862; Milton, Tennessee,
February 18, 1863; Cainsville, Tennessee, February 19, 1863; Spring Hill,
Tennessee, February 29, 1863 ; Columbia, Tennessee, March 4, 5, 1863 ; Hills-
boro, Tennessee, March 12, 1863 ; Brontwood, Tennessee, March 25, 1863 ;
McGarrick's Ford, Tennessee, April, 1863 ; Triune, Tennessee, June 4, 1863 ;
Rover, Tennessee, June 23, 1863 ; Middletown, Tennessee, June 24, 1863 ;
Shelby ville, Tennessee, June 27, 1863 ; Elk River Ford, Tennessee, July 2, 1863 ;
Dechard, Tennessee, July 4, 1863; Chickamagua, Tennessee, September 18-20,
1863 ; Anderson Cross-Roads, Tennessee, October, 1863 ; Sparta, Tennessee,
December, 1863; Dandridge, Tennessee, December 24, 1863; Mossy Creek,
Tennessee, December 29, 1863 ; Dandridge, Tennessee, January 17, 1864 ;
Pigeon River, Tennessee, January 27, 1864; Dug Gap, Georgia, May 13, 14.
1864; Red Clay, Georgia, May, 1864; Etowah River, Georgia, May 24, 27,
28, 1864 ; Ackworth, Tennessee, June 2-5, 1864; Nashville, Tennessee, August

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

47

30, 1864; Campbellsville, Tennessee, September 5, 1864; Franklin, Tennessee,
September 27, 1864; Cypress Eiver, Tennessee, October 7, 1864; Raccoon
Ford, Tennessee, October 30, 1864 ; Shoal Creek, Tennessee, November 5,
1864; Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, November 21, 1864; Campbellsville, Tennessee,
November 24, 1864; Columbia, Tennessee, November 25-27, 1864; Spring
Hill, Tennessee, November 29, 1864; Bethesda Church, Tennessee, November
29, 1864; Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864; Nashville, Tennessee, De-
cember 15, 16, 1864 ; Richland Creek, Tennessee, December 24, 1864 ; Pulaski,
Tennessee, December 25, 1864 ; Sugar Creek, Tennessee, December 26, 1864 ;
Pricetown Yard, Tennessee, January 6, 1865 ; Corinth, Mississippi, February,
1865; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 1, 1865; Trion, Alabama, April 2, 1865;
Bridgeville, Alabama, April 6, 1865 ; Talladega, Alabama, April 23, 1865.

EIGHTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY.

This regiment rendezvoused at Mount Clemens, where it was mustered into the
United States service May 12, 1863, Colonel John Stockton commander, and was
known at first as " Stockton's Independent Cavalry." Lieutenant-Colonel G. S.
Wormer succeeded to the colonelcy on the resignation of Colonel Stockton, on
account of ill health. One company of Calhoun County men were mustered into the
service with this regiment,— Company A, Captain W. L. Buck, of Marshall, after-
wards major, and taken prisoner. " While the record of this regiment is bright
and dazzling, and numbers many successful and brilliant battles, none of them, per-
haps, appear to more advantage than the severe fights at Athens and Calhoun,
East Tennessee, September 26 and 27, 1863, in which its brigade, being the first
of the Fourth division, Fourth army corps, became engaged with Forrest's and
Wheeler's Cavalry, estimated at fifteen thousand, and where the regiment, in com-
mand of Colonel Wormer, occupied a prominent position, fought stubbornly, and
lost forty-three men in killed, wounded, and missing." Conspicuous, also, are its
gallant achievements while checking the advance of Longstreet's army on Knox-
ville, when the regiment, in command of Major Edgerly, participated in covering
the retreat of the Union forces, then falling back before the rebel army from
Lenoir Station or Knoxville. On that occasion the regiment was engaged with
the enemy constantly from the 12th until the 19th of November, and afterwards
took part in the glorious and successful defense of Knoxville until the raising of
the siege on the 5th of December, when it joined in pursuit of the rebel army,
skirmishing with their rear-guard, and driving them at every point until Reams'
Station was reached, where it became heavily engaged on the 14th of December,
but succeeded in pushing them with loss from every position. For its decided
bravery, determined fighting, and the valuable service rendered the army, the regi-
ment was complimented in special orders by General Burnside. It also took part
in the fruitless raid of Stoneman on Macon, in July, and even in that fearfully
disastrous undertaking won glorious distinction as a fighting regiment. When
Stoneman became entirely surrounded, and surrender was evident, the Eighth
Michigan, then in command of Colonel Mix, unwilling to lay down their arms to
the rebels, and bearing in mind the honor of their State, as well as their own,
obtained permission from the commanding general to cut their way out, and,
dashing forward, commenced their desperate undertaking, surrounded entirely by
the enemy, engaging him hand to hand. Colonel Mix being captured, owing to
the loss of his horse, Major Buck assumed command, and succeeding in forcing
a way through the enemy by persistent stubborn fighting, he undertook to reach
the Union lines near Atlanta, but failed. After a hard march, much fatigue and
exposure, having been seven days and eight nights in the saddle, pursued and
harassed, he was overtaken, and, after a severe engagement, a large number were
made prisoners, yet a portion of the regiment reached the Union lines. On the
march from Nashville, November, 1864, for the purpose of watching the move-
ments of Hood, then on his northern movement from Atlanta, they were con-
tinually engaged for several days and nights ; a detachment of one ofiicer and
twenty-five men kept a whole regiment of rebels in check until Company B was
sent forward to reinforce it, but, before reaching there, was beaten back and the
detachment cut oiF. A battalion of the regiment held the whole force of rebels
in check by a determined front and cool firing, and being also cut off from
supports, cut its way through the enemy's lines and rejoined the brigade.

Its battles and skirmishes are as follows :

Triplet Bridge, Kentucky, June 19, 1863 ; Lebanon, Kentucky, July 5, 1863
Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, July 9, 1863; Salvica, Kentucky, July 10, 1863
Buffington's Island, Ohio, July 19, 1863 ; Winchester, Kentucky, July 25, 1863
Salineville, Ohio, July 26, 1863 ; Lancaster, Kentucky, July 30, 1863 ; Stam-
ford, Kentucky, July 31, 1863; Kingston, Tennessee, September 1, 1863 ; Cleve-
land, Tennessee, September 18, 1863 ; Calhoun, Tennessee, September 26, 1863 ;
Athens, Tennessee, September 27, 1863; Loudon, Tennessee, September 29,
1863; Philadelphia, Tennessee, October 23, 1863; Sweet Water, Tennessee,
October 26, 1863 ; Lenoir Station, Tennessee, November 12, 1863; Campbell's

Station, Tennessee, November 16, 1863 ; Knoxville, Tennessee, November 18,
1863 ; Rutledge, Tennessee, December 10, 1863 ; Reams' Station, Tennessee,
December 14, 1863 ; New Market, Tennessee, December 25, 1863 ; Mossy Creek,
Tennessee, January 10, 1864 ; Dandridge, Tennessee, January 17, 1864 ; Fair
Garden, Tennessee, January 24, 1864 ; Sevierville, Tennessee, January 27, 1864 ;
Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, July 1, 1864 ; Sweet Water, Georgia, July 3, 1864 ;
Chattahoochie, Georgia, July 4, 1864 ; Moore's Ridge, Georgia, July 12, 1864 ;
Covington, Georgia, July 28, 1864; Macon, Georgia, July 30, 1864; Sunshine
Church, Georgia, July 31, 1864; Eatonton, Georgia, August 1, 1864; Mulberry
Creek, Georgia, August 3, 1864 ; Henry ville, Tennessee, November 23, 1864 ;
Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, November 24, 1864 ; Duck River, Tennessee, Novem-
ber 24, 1864; Nashville, Tennessee, December 14-22, 1864.

ELEVENTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY.

This regiment, which left the State for Kentucky, December 11, 1863, in com-
mand of Colonel L. B. Brown, Captain James B. Mason, formerly of Company
H, " Merrill Horse," being second in command, had among its companies one from
Battle Creek, Company F, Captain D. D. Buck, afterwards major of the regiment.
Out of the many battles and skirmishes in which this regiment participated with
much credit, none, it is deemed, appeared to have proved the sterling bravery and
efficiency of this pattern cavalry regiment more than the important battles of Salt-
ville, Virginia, October 2, 1864, and Marion, Virginia, December 17 of the same
year, as they will undoubtedly be considered by the regiment and those familiar
with its history as among its principal engagements.

In August of that year the regiment was at Camp Burnside, on the Cumber-
land River. On the 17th day of September following it was ordered to Mount
Sterling, Kentucky, and thence engaged with its division, in command of General
Burbridge, in an action at Saltville, Virginia, encountering the enemy at McCor-
mick's Farm, Kentucky, on the 23d, and then at Laurel Mountain, Virginia, on
the 29th, and at Bowen's Farm on the 30th and October 1. Having experienced
a long and hazardous march through a rocky, barren country, and being in the
advance, it skirmished daily with the enemy, who contested every foot of the ground
with much vigor and persistence. The command of General Burbridge, on the
morning of the 2d, came upon the enemy's works at Saltville, defended by the
troops of Breckenridge, Echols, and Williams, numbering about twenty-two thou-
sand, including seven thousand militia. The whole of Burbridge's command,
numbering less than four thousand effective men, were ordered to move on the
enemy's works, a different point of attack being assigned to each brigade. The
nature of the ground, and the fact that the enemy greatly outnumbered the Union
troops, and were behind strong embankments defended with twenty pieces of
artillery, rendered the undertaking a very hazardous and desperate one. The
brigade commanded and led by Colonel Brown, and to which the Eleventh Cav-
alry, then in command of Lieutenant-Colonel Mason, were attached, carried the
main work in most brilliant style, and were the only troops that effected a lodg-
ment within the defenses. The fact that the Eleventh Cavalry alone lost eighty-
six in killed, wounded, and missing — more men than were lost by any other brigade
of the command — proved conclusively that the success of the troops under Brown
was not the result of lack of courage or of determined and desperate fighting on
the part of their opponents, but was a result of their own gallant and persistent
fighting. The rebel position proving too strong to be held, the command, after
most stubborn fighting, was withdrawn, but not until all its ammunition had been
expended. On the retreat the Eleventh constituted the rear-guard, and next
day skirmished with the enemy's advance, and the day following the battle was
renewed near Sandy Mountain, where the regiment became cut off from the
division, and surrounded by a body of cavalry, numbering about four thousand,
under " Cerro Gordo" Williams. After a very sanguinary conflict of over an
hour, the enemy closing in upon the regiment, Colonel Mason, determined on fight
before surrender, led the regiment to the charge, and succeeded, after a bloody
hand-to-hand encounter, in cutting through the rebel lines, punishing the enemy
so severely that he abandoned any pursuit. This brilliant affair was not accom-
plished without loss, which included the gallant Mason, a noble soldier. He was
mortally wounded in the charge, and died the next day.

In the Stoneman raid into North Carolina, in December, 1864, a detachment
of the Eleventh Michigan, numbering one hundred and twenty officers and men,
under the command of Captain E. C. Miles, held a bridge during the whole en-
gagement, which was of much importance, being the key to the position held by
the Union troops. Captain George B. Mason, while gallantly attempting to rein-
force Captain Miles with a squadron of the regiment, was mortally wounded. The
bridge was stubbornly held under a severe fire from a heavy force on the opposite
side of the river, and, in addition to the loss of Captain Mason, Lieutenant Davis
and five enlisted men nobly fell in its defense. For this important service the
detachment of Captain Miles received the highest praise from General Stoneman,

48

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

and the regiment was thanked in the general orders of the department commander
for its meritorious and valuable services in the battle of Marion. The Second
brigade, of which the Eleventh formed a part at Salisbury, April 12, engaged
a superior force of the enemy, and captured eighteen hundred prisoners, twenty-
two pieces of artillery, and destroyed a large amount of property, and also the
railroads and telegraph lines leading from that point. On the 20th of July it was
consolidated with the Eighth Michigan Cavalry.

Its engagements with the enemy were as follows :

Pound Gap, Kentucky, May 17, 1864 ; Hazel Green, Kentucky, May 10, 1864 ;
Mount Sterling, Kentucky, June 9, 1864; Lexington, Kentucky, June 10, 1864 ;
Georgetown, Kentucky, June 13, 1864; Cynthiana, Kentucky, June 12, 1864;
Port Burnside, Kentucky, August 30, 1864 ; McCormack's Farm, Kentucky,
September 23, 1864 ; Laurel Mountain, Kentucky, September 29, 1864 ; Bowen's
Farm, September 30, October 1, 1864; Saltville, Virginia, October 2, 1864;
Sandy Mountain, Virginia, October 3, 4, 1864 ; Western Virginia, October 5,
1864 ; Hazel Green, Kentucky, November 9, 1864 ; McCormack's Farm, Ken-
tucky, November 10, 1864; Morristown, Kentucky, November 13, 1864; Slate
Creek, Kentucky, November 14, 1864; Mount Sterling, Kentucky, November
16, 1864; Clinch Biver, Tennessee, November 28, 1864; Bussellville, Tennes-
see, December 2, 1864 ; Morristown, Tennessee, December 2, 1864 ; Cobb's Ford,
Tennessee, December 3, 1864 ; Bristol, Tennessee, December 13,1864; Paper-
ville, Tennessee, December 13, 1864; Abington, Virginia, December 15, 1864
Wytheville, Virginia, December 16, 1864; Mount Airy, Virginia, December 17
1864; Marion, Virginia, December 18, 1864; Seven Miles Ford, December 19
1864; Saltville, Virginia, December 20, 21, 1864; Jonesboro, Virginia, Decem-
ber 23, 1864 ; Clinch Biver, Virginia, December 24, 1864 ; Morristown, Virginia,
December 25, 1864 ; McCormack's Farm, Kentucky, December 29, 1864 ; Mount
Sterling, Kentucky, January 19, 1865 ; Hazel Green, Kentucky, January 28,
1865 ; Flemingsburg, Kentucky, February 18, 1865 ; Boone, North Carolina
March 27, 1865 ; Yadkin Biver, North Carolina, March 28, 1865 ; Mount Airy,
Virginia, March 31, 1865; Hillsville, Virginia, April 1, 1865; Saline, Virginia,
April 3, 1865 ; Christiansburg, Virginia, April 3, 1865 ; Jonesboro, Tennessee
April 5, 1865 ; Danbury, North Carolina, April 9, 1865 ; Slatesville, North Caro-
lina, April 10, 1865 ; Ford near Slatesville, North Carolina, April 11, 1865 ; Salis-
bury, North Carolina, April 12, 1865 ; Slatesville, North Carolina, April 13, 1865 ;
Morgantown, North Carolina, April 16—18, 1865 ; Swannano Gap, North Caro-
lina, April 19,1865; Hendersonville, North Carolina, April 21, 1865; Ashville,
North Carolina, April 25, 1865 ; Ward's Farm, North Carolina, April 28, 1865 ;
Caesar's Head, South Carolina, April 30, 1865 ; Pickensville, South Carolina,
May 1, 1865 ; Anderson Court-House, South Carolina, May 2, 1865.

MERRILL HORSE.

This regiment was a Missouri organization, and three companies from Battle
Creek were members of it. In September, 1861, Company H, Captain J. B.
Mason, and Company I, Captain Jabez H. Bogers, were raised, and went into
the field ; and in January, 1863, Company L, Captain Almon E. Prestbn, was
recruited, and entered the service. The regiment was actively engaged, and saw
much service in the field during the whole period of the war. These companies
served with the western armies exclusively.

From the address of Captain A. E. Preston, of Company L, Merrill Horse,
delivered on the occasion of the decoration of the soldiers' graves in Battle Creek
in 1876, we clip the following history of Companies H, I, and L, of that famous
cavalry organization.

Early in the summer of 1862, Companies H and I, with Mason and Bowell
in command, constituted part of a force operating in North Missouri against
Porter, the noted guerrilla chief, who was preying upon the Unionists of that
section, plundering their farms and committing various other unwarrantable
depredations.

For many days the track of the wily chieftain was followed in the vain en-
deavor to bring him to bay and force him to fight. Finally, at a point near
Memphis, the enemy was encountered on the 18th of July, 1862, strongly posted
in ambuscade, with the intention, no doubt, of surprising our forces and punish-
ing them for their temerity in following so close upon his heels. How well he
succeeded the sequel shows. Gregory, who was in command of the advance,
immediately dismounted his men and skirmished forward to determine the enemy's
position. But Mason and Bowell coming up at the moment with Companies H
and I, Major Clopper in command, Gregory was ordered to remount his men,
and, with the balance of the companies now at hand, to charge, through a thick
undergrowth, upon the concealed foe. Most fatal mistake ! But so fearful was
Clopper that the enemy would again escape him without feeling the steel of his
troopers, that the desperate chance was taken of dashing headlong into the well-
concealed trap that had been set for him.

The line was formed, the bugle sounded the charge, and away they went right
against the enemy's invisible line. As the charging squadrons came within pistol
range of Porter's still undefined position, they were met by a volley of musketry
from a compact line of men that seemed by some magic to have risen from out
the earth. Bleeding, shattered, reeling under the murderous blast, the brave
blue-caps were compelled to fall back and reform their broken ranks. Again they
charged and re-charged, time after time, in the vain endeavor to carry the enemy's
well-chosen position ; but so terrible was their reception at each successive onset
that the discomfited troopers were finally obliged to retire and adopt a more
sensible mode of attack.

This was the baptism of fire of Michigan men in the Merrill Horse. Is it any
wonder that the kind-hearted Mason wept when he surveyed the sad havoc that
had been wrought in his ranks ? Of the two hundred and fifty men engaged,
forty-five lay stretched upon the field dead or wounded. Gregory, Kelsey, and
Bobinson were severely wounded, and Sherman mortally.

Company L of the Merrill Horse was raised, and joined the regiment, then
stationed at Warrenton, in North Missouri, in December. From that point the
company and regiment marched south during the season of 1863, traversing the
States of Missouri and Arkansas, meeting the enemy at Brownsville, Bayou
Metor, Little Bock, Prairie De Ann, Little Missouri, and Camden. The com-
pany lost heavily by disease, from the unhealthy character of the country in
which it was stationed. Twenty-two of its number are resting in obscure graves
scattered along the line of its march from the Missouri river to the southern
bounds of Arkansas.

They were in the following engagements :

Memphis, Missouri, July 18, 1862 ; Moor's Mill, Missouri, July 28, 1862 ;
Kirsville, Missouri, August 6, 1862; Brownsville, Arkansas, August 25, 1863;
Bayou Mecoe, Arkansas, September 7, 1863 ; Little Bock, Arkansas, September
10, 1863 ; Benton, Arkansas, September 11, 1863 ; Princeton, Arkansas, Decem-
ber 8, 1863; Little Missouri Biver, Arkansas, April 3, 4, 1864; Prairie Dehau,
Arkansas, April 12-14, 1864; Camden, Arkansas, April 15, 1864; Jenkins'
Ferry, Arkansas, April 29, 30, 1864; Franklin, Missouri, October 1, 1864; Ot-
terville, Missouri, October 10, 1864; Independence, Missouri, October 22, 1864;
Big Blue, Missouri, October 23, 1864 ; Trenton Gap, Georgia, March 22, 1865 ;
Alpine, Georgia, March 24, 1865 ;. Summerville, Georgia, March 25, 1865.

ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS.

The only Michigan colored regiment in the war was the One Hundred and Second
United States, raised by Colonel Henry Barns, of Detroit, organized by Lieutenant-
Colonel W. T. Bennett, and in March, 1864, took the field in command of
Colonel H. L. Chipman, then a captain in the regular army, who had procured a
leave of absence for that purpose. It was mustered into the service as the First
Michigan. There were some thirty or more men from Calhoun County enlisted
in the regiment, but no fully organized company. J. H. Clark, of Marshall, was
orderly sergeant of Company I. The regiment served in South Carolina and
Florida and in that section of the country. It made a good record in the following,
its list of engagements during the service :

Baldwin, Florida, August 8, 1864 ; Honey Hill, South Carolina, December 30,

1864 ; Tullifinny, South Carolina, December 7, 1864 ; Devaux Neck, South Caro-
lina, December 9, 1864 ; Cuckwold's Creek Bridge, February 8, 1865 ; Sumter-
ville, South Carolina, April 8, 1865 ; Spring Hill, South Carolina, April 15, 1865 ;
Swift Creek, South Carolina, April 17, 1865 ; Boykins, South Carolina, April 18,

1865 ; Singleton's Plantation, South Carolina, April 19, 1865.

CHAPTEB XYI.

CONCLUSION.

And now, dear reader, our task is done. We have wandered together by the
stream of history as, for nearly half a century, it has meandered through old
Calhoun, receiving its affluents here and there, and depositing in its banks relics
of the past, which patiently, and we trust successfully, we have exhumed and
brought before your vision, recalling the olden time and placing it in contrast with
the new. Standing on some jutting headland, we view the panorama as it slowly
passes by, unfolding the etchings the versatile artist, Time, has penciled thereon.
Here, coming up out of the misty past, is the Indian in full chase after the
bounding deer. He passes, and before his form dies away in the distance we
see the first settlers moving forward with the slow-paced oxen, bearing their house-

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

49

hold treasures into the openings of the Kalamazoo. A cabin of rude logs rises ;
the pioneer's axe rings through the woods ; the cumbersome plow turns the fur-
rows.; the pioneer mill rises, and a new life has taken possession of the wilderness,
and the hunting-grounds of the red man are no more before us, but have moved
westward toward the setting sun. Another scene unfolds before us, and the rude
school-house and chapel are seen, wherein gather the children of the pioneer for
instruction, even amid the solitudes of the border ; and we hear the song of thanks-
giving and the voice of melody rise upon the air, and blend with the song of birds
and the rustle of leaves as the summer zephyrs move the foliage of the woods.
The stage-coach rumbles up to the door of the log hostelry, the notes of the
driver's horn waking merry echoes through the old parks, and startling the quail
and partridge from their coverts by the wayside. Houses of more pretentious
appearance begin to dot the landscape, which is fast assuming the aspect of a civil-
ized and prosperous community. Villages, whose houses have been playing hide-
and-seek among the oaks of a thousand winters, but now nestling more sociably
together, are rising into view ; and church spires, sure indices of civilization and
refinement, point heavenward, as if to lift the thoughts of the dwellers of the
land from the soil, wherefrom hitherto their chief substance has been drawn, to
other sources of life rather than " bread alone." Another picture comes before
us as the parallel bands of iron converging into one in the dim distance expand
into the railway track, along which thunder the cars of the Central, and lo ! the
old life is gone and another takes its place. " Ten days to New York and return"
is soon put to shame by the fast train through in a single day. The telegraph
brings the news from the sea-board, and the days of slow-moving trade are num-
bered and laid to rest. Magnificent school-houses, wherein the youth are fitted
for life's business, professionally or otherwise, stand before us, monuments to the
wisdom of the founders of the system which has made them possible. Spacious
and luxurious tabernacles take the place of the out-door temples of the Boanerges
of the olden time, who launched their doctrines, fiery and depressing, at our de-
7

fenseless heads. The priests who minister at the altars of the new temples tell
us the story of the " very same Jesus," but in tripping cadences and rhetorical
periods. Another series of scenes comes before us, and we see in dim and shadowy
outline the pioneer shouldering his trusty rifle, and bidding wife and children
good-by, leaving westward to intercept the approach of the savage before his
bloody trail shall strike his own settlement. This moves on, and in its place we
see the sons of these pioneers forming by squad and company and battalion and
regiment, and going forth by hundreds, yes, thousands, to defend the flag of the
country which has given them a government, under whose fostering care all these
later scenes have been made accomplished facts. We look upon the serried ranks
as they move forward, shoulder to shoulder, against the deadly blast of war. The
cannon and musketry of traitors in arms thin their ranks, but forward they bear
the colors of the Union, reflected in their blood, that stains every step of the weary *
way from Bull Run to Appomattox. Homeward they turn when victory is secure
and the Union has triumphed, their columns gaping from the havoc of shot and
shell and the disease of the camp and prison-pen, and their colors ragged and
torn, but proud and defiant as ever. One grand ovation to the living, a sad, wail-
ing requiem for the dead, and the remnant left of the brave thousands who went
forth to do battle for the right settle back into the busy routine of the private citi-
zen, and the war-clouds pass away, and gentle Peace covers all with her wings.

And now, dear reader, standing face with these evidences of enlightened prog-
ress, shall we not say that the cause of humanity is ever onward and upward ?
That here and there, all over the world, the evidence accumulates that the Divine
purpose is steadily being developed and wrought out, as well over the bloody trail
of war as by the pleasant paths of peace ? And may we not truly say that

" sometimes gleams upon our sight,
Through present wrong, the eternal right ;
And step by step, since time began,
We see the steady gain of man V

HISTORY OP THE CITIES, TOWNS, AND VILLAGES

OF

CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

THE CITY OF MARSHALL.

Among the interior cities of Michigan, none have been more widely known ?
and few as well advertised, in their early history in the State, as has the city of
Marshall. From the very outset of its career it was the expectation not only
of its own citizens, but of those of its neighbors far and near, for the space
of ten years, that the capital of the State would be located within its limits, and
therefore, as early as 1835, lands were set. apart by the proprietors, of the village
plat for State uses where the Agricultural Society's ample grounds are now
situate, and became known for years as "Capitol Hill." These expectations
were based on no imaginary theory, but, as is shown elsewhere, upon actual
arrangement with certain powers in authority, whereby a mutual exchange of
benefits was to accrue along the line of the Central road, and which arrangement
came very near its consummation. This expectation, though it finally proved to be
but " the baseless fabric of a vision," did by no means " pass away, leaving not a
rack behind," but, on the contrary, most substantial benefits resulted, giving to
Marshall a reputation and a fame at home and abroad enviable in the extreme-
The most able bar of the State from 1836 to 1850 gathered about this city and
that of Battle Creeks Learned divines and skillful physicians assembled here;
the best instructors brought their talents and displayed them for the education of
the rising generation, laying foundations of intelligence and culture, and building
thereon a stable and permanent structure. The influence and direction given by
these earlier citizens have not failed to leave their impress so durably stamped
upon the society of the city that the tides of thirty years have not only been un-
able to efface it therefrom, but have rather made it deeper and broader. Those
* who have followed the first-comers have taken up the lines where their predeces-
sors had dropped them, and gone forward, in a great measure, to greater achieve-
ments, at least in a social and intellectual sense. The Marshall of the olden time
may have been noted for its great expectations, but it was none the less noted for
its actual excellences. Among its first expectations which came to naught (with
which, for reasons above given, the capitol dream should not be classed) was its
steamboat navigation of the Kalamazoo. In consequence of a strife between
Comstock and Kalamazoo, then called Bronson, for the county-seat of Kalamazoo
county, Marshall secured the prize, and was declared to be the head of steamboat
navigation on the Kalamazoo. Immediately the lithographer was called into
requisition, and his artistic skill portrayed the future city as already a queen,
with steamboats loading and unloading at her wharves. But it was soon ascer-
tained that it was a difficult if not impossible feat for a fair-sized scow with a
decent cargo to make the descent of the stream, so narrow and shallow was its
channel. The village was well advertised, however. Speculation in 1835-37 was
rife in Marshall as everywhere, and real estate rose rapidly in value, and when
the crash came, to tide over the stormy times recourse was had to " wild cat"
banking, based on mortgages on real estate, which very shortly shrunk in value to
such meagre proportion that the issues of the cdneerns which flooded the country
were worthless rags, and many well-digested plans based thereon came to naught,
and brought ruin and bankruptcy to the unfortunate schemers.

Among those who strove to build up Marshall by every means at his command
was the original proprietor of the village, Sidney Ketchum, who labored diligently
to that end for more than fifteen years, but was overwhelmed in the final disaster
and left penniless, and forced to emigrate farther west and begin life anew. He
was the first proprietor of Marshall, having come to its location in the summer of
1830 from central New York, — Clinton county. Being provided with letters of
introduction to Governor Cass, he, on leaving his eastern home for a tour of ob-
servation through the west, determined to look at the Territory of Michigan, and
50

arrived at Detroit in the month of August of the year 1830, and, after obtaining
all possible information, proceeded to the interior. There were at this period two
roads which had been surveyed across the peninsula, one known as the Chicago
turnpike, which had been partially worked, leading from Detroit to Chicago, and
the other known as the Territorial road, diverging from the Chicago road at or
near Ypsilanti, and passed directly west, and terminated at the mouth of the St.
Joseph, on Lake Michigan. The latter road had been surveyed and "blazed" only,
and followed a deeply- worn Indian trail, trodden perhaps for ages. Mr. Ketchum
procured the assistance of Samuel Camp at Ann Arbor, and made his selection of
lands and water at the site of the present city of Marshall and village of Albion,
as is fully related in the general history of the county. In tracing the progress
of the settlement of Marshall, Mr. Ketchum's prominence in every scheme for its
advancement will be readily seen, and we will here give but a summary of his
work. His large interests in what was subsequently termed the upper village of
Marshall, and the water-power in the Kalamazoo, were merged into that of the
Marshall Village Company, whose work in building up the place is elsewhere re-
corded. He was the chief mover in this enterprise, though others were active
with him, Geo. S. Wright being the trustee and fiscal agent for the company.
He was largely interested in the Calhoun County bank, being its president during
the whole period of its existence. (This was not a "wild cat.") He surveyed
and laid out the upper village of Marshall after the seat of justice was located on
the plat of the lower village, and was one of the four owners of the lower village,
his co-proprietors being Isaac N. Hurd, Charles D. Smith, and George Ketchum.
He built the first stone church in the county at the cost of several thousand dol-
lars, subscribing liberally at first, and finally completing it himself and presenting
it to the Methodist Episcopal church of Marshall. His house, which was the
most ample one in the village for many years, was open at all times for public
worship of any denomination that chose to occupy it previous to the building of
the church, and he brought the first school-teacher to the settlement. Whatever
faults Sidney Ketchum had were overbalanced by his restless energy and deter-
mination, and although disaster and ruin came to him financially, others who came
after him builded largely on his foundations. He removed from Marshall in the
year 1845 or thereabouts to the State of New York, and after some years returned
again to Marshall, where he died.

In writing the history of a county and its constituent townships recapitulation
to some degree is unavoidable, and to avoid it as much as possible we must refer
our readers to the general history of the first settlements of the county, as they
were mostly made at Marshall, and merely name the settlers in this connection.
The first settlers on the village site were George Ketchum and his party, who came
thereto in April, 1830, built a cabin and proceeded to erect a saw-mill on Rice
creek. They next built a flouring- or rather grist-mill on the same water privilege,
getting the same into operation in the fall of 1832. Previous to this time the
settlers were compelled to go to Tecumseh, Flowerfield, or Constantine for their
milling. The opening of the flouring-mill at Marshall was an important event in
the history of the settlement, and reversed the relations of the little hamlet with
the outside world at once. It was now the Mecca to which hungry pilgrims for
miles around came and were filled, and buying, came again and again, and con-
tinued to do so for over thirty years, from the north and south, till the railroads
came through the territory which had so long been tributary to the village and
city. After the Ketchum party came Dr. A. L. Hays, the first physician in the
county, in May following. He came alone to look out a location in the west, and
found one at Marshall and bought it, returned to his home in the east, and brought

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

51

on his family in September of the same year. In July, on the first Sunday of the
month, the minister of Christ came in the person of Rev. John D. Pierce, who
opened his mouth and taught the little handful that gathered to hear him under
the oaks of the forest, which then shaded every inch of the ground which is now
covered with the business houses of the present city. A little later, in the month
of August, Sidney Ketchum, Randall Hobart, and Peter Chisholm came to make
glad the only woman of the settlement— Mrs. Ball— with the companionship of
their wives and little ones. In September, Isaac N. Hurd came, and Mrs. Hays,
as before stated ; and about this time, or maybe a little later in the fall, Charles
D. Smith and Levi Smith, Abram Davidson and Jonathan Wood, of the surveying
corps of the United States Land Survey, had secured the site on which the seat
of justice was subsequently located. They never settled in Marshall, but disposed
of their interest to Hurd, who manipulated the location of the county-seat, securing
it in October, 1831, by dedicating certain lots for public purposes. In October,
the early part of the month (the 8th day), Rev. John D. Pierce, who had returned
to central New York for his family, came to make his home at Marshall. He is
now living at Ypsilanti.

In November, George Ketchum, who had returned east for the purpose, brought
on his family, and with him came Thomas Chisholm and wife. Asahel Warner
and his father, Wareham Warner, came to Marshall in May, 1831, and the former
remained a citizen of the village for several years, but the latter returned to New
York, and on his second coming to the county located at Albion. In February,
1832, Luther G. Grossman, the builder of the first frame houses in the county,
came, and early that year Isaac E. Crary, the first lawyer, came, and the learned
professions were all represented. Dr. Luther W. Hart came that year, and Asa
B. Cook, Henry Failing, Oshea Wilder, Sands McCamley, Henry J. Phelps,
Samuel Camp, and others. About this time Sidney S. Alcott came, perhaps not
till 1833, but after 1832 the village gained so rapidly in population it is impos-
sible to name them all. Andrew Mann came in 1833 or 1834, George S. Wright
in 1835, and is still a prominent resident of the city ; Colonel Charles Dickey,
Chauncey M. Brewer, Hon. Charles T. Gorham, Hon. Charles P. Dibble, in 1836,
early; Rev. Dr. O. C. Comstock, Sr., and Dr. O. C. Comstock, Jr., Dr. J. H.
Montgomery, A. D. Schuyler, and the Wallingfords came in 1836 ; S. S. Burpee
in 1835, and F. A. Kingsbury also. In 1833, William R. McCall came, and still
continues his trade in the city. Rev. Calvin Clark came in 1835, and after serving
his Lord and Master in the State of Michigan forty-two years, fell asleep quietly,
peacefully, and quickly, June 4, 1877, at the age of seventy-two years, in the same
place where he first located, grown under his eye from a little village of three
hundred inhabitants, living mostly in small framed or log houses, to a city of brick
business houses, churches, school-houses, and palatial dwellings containing five
thousand people. Stephen H. Preston, Esq., Hon. J. Wright Gordon, and Hon.
Wm. H. Brown came to the village in 1836, and are named more particularly in
the history of the bar of the county. Marvin Preston came' in 1833, or before.
Sands McCamley kept a boarding-house in Mr. Pierce's double log house in the
fall of 1832. Hon. Francis W. Shearman came to the village in 1841 as the
editor of the Michigan Journal of Education, and died in the city in 1874. In
1835, James M. Parsons came to the village and engaged in trade, and is still so
occupied in the present city. Dr. Joseph Sibley also came in about that time.
Preston Mitchell came in 1836, and George Ingersoll in 1838. A. O. Hyde, the
veteran druggist of the city, and a genial gentleman, came in 1840, and continues
to dispense the specifics of materia medica in the city. Philo Dibble came to the
city with his son Charles P. in 1836.

George Ketchum died in California, between 1855 and 1860 ; Randall Hobart
removed also to the Eldorado of the Sierras in 1850, and died there a few years
ago ; Dr. Hays died in Marshall, and Peter Chisholm also. Crary, Hart, Wilder,
' McCamley, Phelps, Camp, Allcott, Mann, the elder Comstock, Burpee, Gordon,
Sherman, Sibley, and Philo Dibble, good, brave, and earnest men all, have laid
down to rest beneath the soil of the city they helped so grandly to build.

THE FIRST HOUSE

erected on the site of the present city was the log cabin of George Ketchum. It
was twenty by twenty-six feet, one and a half story high. The first frame building
erected was Charles D. Smith's store, though the school-house was soon after built,
in May or June, 1832. The first frame dwelling of any pretensions erected was
that of Hon. Isaac E. Crary, who also built the first frame office erected in the
village. The first brick building was the National House, which was erected in
1835, and opened January 1, 1836. The first brick dwelling-house erected was
that of Sidney Ketchum, in 1837-38. Deacon J. L. Lord also put up a brick
dwelling about as soon as Ketchum, and it was a very fine one, too, for the times.
Deacon Lord was on the top of the brick church built by Deacon J. S. Fitch
when it fell, but, fortunately, escaped serious injury.

THE FIRST MARRIAGE
celebrated in the county was consummated in the village of Marshall, in the early
part of 1833, between John Kennedy and a lady whose name we have been unable
to ascertain, Rev. John D. Pierce being the celebrator of the bans.

THE FIRST WHITE CHILD

born in the county was also the first one " to the manor born" in Marshall, and
was Helen Chisholm, daughter of Peter Chisholm, the first blacksmith in the
city and county. She was born October 26, 1831. She was followed by Luther
Hays, a son of Dr. A. L. Hays, in January, 1832. During that year Minerva
Chisholm, a daughter of Thomas Chisholm, and Mark McCamley, a son of Sands
McCamley, were born, being the third and fourth in point of precedence in the
county.

THE FIRST DEATH

* •«

that occurred in the county was that of Isaac N. Hurd, a citizen of Marshall, the first
victim of the cholera, in July, 1832, his demise taking place on the evening of the
20th day of that month, about twelve hours after the first attack of the scourge.
There were eighteen cases of the disease, eight of which proved fatal, out of a
population of fifty-six souls. Mrs. John D. Pierce was the second victim, and
died July 24, and was prepared for burial by her husband, and by him and
Rev. Randall Hobart buried the same evening, Mr. Hobart making the coffin to
hold her remains. A Mr. Fake with his wife and three children fled from Detroit
to Marshall to escape the disease, which was raging fearfully in the former city.
They were boarding with Mr. Pierce when Mrs. Pierce was stricken down, but
immediately moved into a small log office. The disease, however, followed the
family and took away one child, when they removed into the store chamber of
Charles D. Smith, where Mrs. Fake died with the same disease. The father then
removed with the two surviving children into Peter Chisholm's house, which
happened at that time to be vacant, but death followed and took another child
from him, which he left unburied, and, taking the only living remnant of his once
happy family, returned to Detroit. Three brothers named Thompson were boarding
with Dr. Hays, one of whom was stricken with the awful plague and died, and
as soon as life left the body of the victim the two remaining brothers, leaving
their dead to be buried by strangers, fled to Detroit. The next death was Julius
Kimball, a son of Stephen Kimball, who lived on a farm on the south side of the
river. The next and last death was that of Bradshaw, who was in the employ
of Sidney Ketchum. These victims were all buried by Mr. Hobart and H. P.
Wisner. The school-house was then taken for a hospital, to which the remainder
of the sick were carried, and attended by Mr. Hobart and Wisner, until all danger
was passed. In 1838, malarial fevers scourged the community most fearfully, as
they did all over the country. The well were insufficient in numbers to properly
care for the sick, and hardly to give the dead a decent burial. Lack of proper
medicines, added to the want of proper treatment and care, swept off the people
all through southern Michigan at an appalling rate. All ambition was lost, hope
fled, and despair settled upon hundreds, who cared not how soon death put an
end to their fears and misery. In Marshall local causes were charged with the
intensity of the epidemic, but these were no more responsible for the virulence of
the fevers than elsewhere. In 1841 the same diseases wrought havoc again, and
the people rose in arms against the mill-pond on Rice creek as the cause of their
woes ; and the board of trustees of the corporation took action on the matter, and
after due notice served on Messrs. Comstock and Halsey, who then owned, or at
least operated, the property, called on the people to aid in enforcing the demands
of the board in the abatement of what they had declared under the statute to
be a nuisance. On Saturday, Nov. 27, 1841, the people assembled, agreeably to
the summons of the village authorities, at the dam of the pond, intent on de-
molishing the same, with great excitement moving the crowd. But peaceful
counsels prevailed, and a compromise was effected whereby one thousand dollars
was subscribed on the spot to aid the proprietors to build a raceway from some
more distant point above the dam, which was estimated to cost two thousand
dollars; and, the embankment cut and the pond drained off, the people dispersed,
well satisfied with the favorable turn matters had taken.

INCIDENTS.

Rev. Calvin Clark, at the picnic gathering of the Pioneer Society, in June, 1873,
said most of the people who came to Marshall in 1835-36 came to get corner lots,
and that one of his brother ministers walked to the land-office at Kalamazoo and
bought nine tracts of land in Branch county, for the benefit of his children, but
thought he was disappointed in the results. Mr. Clark spent his first year in
Eckfbrd, in a log house built by Henry Cook, the only board in it being used for
a door. It was covered with shakes, and had puncheon floors above and below.
He had known as many as thirty-eight souls stay in it over night at one time.
One day he came home and found his wife in tears, the snow sifting all over the

52

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

floor, but he soon fixed matters by taking a blanket and spreading it on the
puncheons overhead, and when the storm was over threw the drift out of the
window. This was not an uncommon incident, and his wife soon got used to that
way of living. One day, George Ketchum gave him five dollars to give to poor
people whom he was about to visit ; and Deacon Cook had his granary full of
wheat, which he kept all winter, and refused to sell to the mill, preferring to dis-
pose of it among the needy. He (Mr. Clark) often walked a log to get into
Albion and Battle Creek, there being no bridges in the year 1835. There was
not at that time a single frame house in either place. Hon. Chas T. Gorham, at
the same meeting, said he and Mr. Brewer came in together, on foot, in 1836,
carrying a valise and overcoats. Brewer had the valise, and Gorham the coats,
which the latter found was a mistake on his part, and desired Brewer to exchange ;
but the latter claimed he was carrying the mail, and could not lawfully make the
exchange of burdens. Mr. Mann ws$ then in The National. The new arrivals
were duly notified that Marshall was to be the future capital of Michigan, and
they soon found out that the town had two ends, east and west ; and on looking it
over found a portion of Kalamazoo avenue under water, and full of logs and
stiimps. He thought if Marshall was not quite all they expected, Calhoun was.
Bev. Jabez Fox said, when he was interested in the Expounder, a plenty of the
persons whom he saw before him in the audience always wanted to pay their sub-
scriptions in potatoes. Mr. J. D. Cuykendall, who came in 1835 and opened a
chair-factory, said his first work was for Samuel Camp ; then he worked for Dr.
Hays, and made a ladder in the corner of a log house for the present Mrs. Gor-
ham to go up to her bed-chamber, which was the only way of getting to the
second story of the house in those days. Mr. Cuykendall said he was religiously
inclined, and attended a series of revival meetings held by Father Sabin and Wil-
lard Calhoun. Calhoun, the exhorter, came to him and talked with him (Cuy-
kendall), and asked as to the state of Cuykendall's feelings, and was answered that
no particular change was discovered. One evening afterwards he came again,
and, receiving the same reply to his question, pressed the matter further by
asking Cuykendall if he loved the brethren, and was answered that nothing was
laid up against any one. " But," persisted Calhoun, " do you love the sisters?"
" Yes, sir /" responded the young man, with startling emphasis. " Glory to God !
you are already converted !" broke out the exhorter, and Cuykendall " went for-
ward" with the rest.

The Patriot of November 16, 1838, had the following in its columns :
"The Beaes ! — On Tuesday afternoon of this week, our usually quiet and
sober village was thrown into the greatest hubbub imaginable by the unexpected
and somewhat startling appearance in our midst of four wild bears ! Had a
horde of yelling savages pounced upon our peaceful village at midnight, our citizens
could not have been taken more by surprise than when these black monsters of the
forest boldly, and in broad daylight, marched into the heart of the village. < To
arms! to arms!' was the cry, and then commenced a scene for our sportsmen as
amusing as it was rare. The largest one of the four was soon shot down, and the
others, after having been hotly and closely pursued over fences and through swamps,
were finally compelled to < knock under' to the merciless peltings of brick-bats,
stones, and clubs, which they received on every side and every corner. The largest
one, and parent of the others, measured five feet from the tip of its nose to the
end of its tail, and weighed one hundred and fifty pounds."

AN INTERESTING RELIC.

Hon. Preston Mitchell has in his possession an ancient pack of playing-
cards, which were found in the secretary of his father after the latter's death, the
children knowing nothing of them till then. The cards are over one hundred
years old. Their peculiarity consists in the fact that the four suits represent the
four divisions of the world. Hearts represent Europe; spades, Asia; clubs,
Africa; and diamonds, America. The face of the cards carry a condensed his-
tory of the world up to the date of their printing; their material being vellum.
The different cards in the same suit have the history of the respective division
they represent, each card having a subdivision historized thereon. No other pack
of cards like them has as yet been discovered. The Historical Society of Mich-
igan had them on exhibition during 1876.

THE VILLAGE PLAT

of Marshall (the lower village) was surveyed August 26, 1831, and recorded in
Kalamazoo (the county of Calhoun being at that time attached to Kalamazoo
county) August 29, 1831. It was located on the west half of northwest quarter
section 25, and east half of the northeast quarter of northeast quarter section
26, township 2, range 6 west. On the 1st day of October, 1833, Sidney Ketchum
laid out the plat of the upper village of Marshall, located on the east half, north-
west quarter, and west half of northeast quarter section 25, township 2, rano-e 6
west, and the plat was recorded October 2, in liber A, page 21, miscellaneous

records of the register's office of Calhoun County. The site of the city, from
the river north to Mansion street, was a level plain. At Mansion street, which
is a most charming avenue, the ground rose to a beautiful rounded summit, now
covered with comfortable and elegant residences. Between Bice creek and the
Kalamazoo, and on the south side of the latter to the eastward, the land is broken
up into rather bold bluffs, more particularly the cape-like headland between the
two water-courses. Capitol Hill commands a fine view of the city and surround-
ing country, and would have been a most admirable location for the capitol had
the fates proved more propitious. Marshall avenue is a broad way running
through from the south side to the northern limits of the corporation. State
street, the main business thoroughfare of the city, is a fine wide street, and quite
solidly built up with three-storied stone and brick business blocks, the most noted
being Mitchell block, an elaborate cut-stone and iron front, pillared and porticoed
profusely, with costly French plate windows. It was built in the year 1870-71
by Mr. Wagner, and is now the property of Hon. Preston Mitchell. J. Cro-
nin's and Cronin's blocks, Masonic block, the First National bank building, the
latter a cut-stone front, and the Eagle Opera House, Hyde and Crane's block, C.
P. Dibble's block. Central block, Academy of Music block, Martin's block, Hern-
don block, Perrin's bank, cut-stone front, Thos. Cook's block, and Brewer's build-
ing are all fine structures.

There are three commodious public halls situated on the street : the Eagle
Opera House, corner Eagle and State, which has a capacity of one thousand seats
or more ; Mitchell Hall, in the same square, which will seat five or six hundred ;
and the Academy of Music, which will seat nearly as many as the Mitchell.
The Eagle Opera House is fitted up with a commodious stage and good scenery.

MANUFACTUBES.

The first manufacturing establishment erected in Marshall was a saw-mill, built
by George Ketchum, in the summer of 1831, on Bice creek, just above its junc-
tion with the Kalamazoo, near the site of the present flouring-mill of H. J. Per-
rin. Mr. Ketchum erected the next year a grist-mill at the same site, a frame
building twenty-five by thirty-five feet on the ground, with two rows of burr-
stone; Benjamin Wright being the mill-wright. These mills were the first manu-
facturing establishments also in Calhoun County. The first stone flouring-mill
was built in 1837, on the Kalamazoo, on the site of the ruins of the stone mill
now in Perrinville, by Asa B. Cook, Arza Bobinson, and Sidney Ketchum. It
was equipped with four runs of stone, and had a fine line of business. It after-
wards fell down, and was rebuilt, and then burned in after-years, and rebuilt by
H. J. Pen-in, and again consumed, the walls, now partly fallen, having an un-
sightly and dangerous appearance. Comstock and Halsey succeeded to the owner-
ship of the first Ketchum mills, and operated the flouring-mill for some years
successfully. Soon after the stone mill was built, S. Newton Dexter and Ben-
jamin W. Baymond, of central New York, the former now deceased, and the
latter a wealthy retired merchant of Chicago, erected a saw-mill, which was burned
down on November 21, 1839. In 1839, Lewis Wilson and Darius Clark built
an oil-mill (flax-seed), but it was operated but a few years. It was the first
mill of the kind in the State, and cost, with its equipment, some six thousand
dollars.

In 1843, E. W. Lathrop and Q-. S. Wright built a woolen-factory on the Kal-
amazoo, but which was conducted only for wool-carding and cloth-dressing. No
goods were ever manufactured in it. In 1836, during the spring of the year,
Lansing Kingsbury and Josiah Lepper built the first foundry erected in Calhoun
County, in Marshall, on Bice creek, which was burned afterwards. Colonel
Charles and W. C. Dickey began the manufacture of fanning-mills in Marshall
in 1836, and carried on the business for many years. J. W. Crandall, in 1840,
was also engaged in that business. In 1839, Nelson Church began to make sash,
doors, and blinds without power, and afterwards, in 1848, built up a large factory
for steam-power, and continued the business until 1874, when he made a change,
and began the manufacture of wagons, which business he is still engaged in in
the city.

In 1833, H. W. Pendleton began the manufacture of furniture, chairs, and
cabinet-work in a small way, but closed out the next year, and was succeeded
by James Cuykendall, who continued the business. F. A. Kingsbury, however,
was the first to do an extensive business in that line, and he began in 1835. On
the 18th of April, 1840, his factory burned down, and was immediately rebuilt
by him, and the business continued until the present. His first extensive venture
was stock for three thousand chairs. In 1844-45, H. J. Perrin erected a framed
flouring-mill, opposite the stone mill, which was afterwards destroyed by fire and
rebuilt, and, in 1872, again destroyed by the same agency, which also destroyed a
sash- and blind-factory and a plaster-mill, both of which were erected subsequently
to the framed mill. They were owned by Mr. Perrin. Mr. Perrin also built a

DAVID HAffOHETT, JE.
The subject of our present sketch, David
Hanchett, is one of the worthy citizens of
the beautiful city of Marshall, noted far and
near for its cultured and intelligent people.
He was born in Weedsport, New York,
November 18, 1806. His father, David
Hanchett, emigrated from Connecticut, of
which State he was a native, to Weedsport
in 1800. David, Jr., was married February
10, 1830, to Mary Hopkins, and resided in
Conquest, Cayuga county, New York, until
February, 1837, when he and his family
removed to Marengo, Calhoun County,
Michigan, traveling by ox-team through
Canada, the trip occupying twenty-one
days. Three children accompanied them,

David Hanchett.

the youngest being but six months old.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hanchett
are as follows : Emeline Gk, Robert H., and
Minerva E., all now living. Mrs. Hanchett
died June 26, 1861, and Mr. Hanchett
finding a lonely life insupportable, brought
to his desolate home another companion,
Hannah Hamilton, to whom he was mar-
ried November 7, 1861. She was a daugh-
ter of Dr. James Hamilton, of Weedsport,
New York. Mr. Hanchett' s first location
was on section 1, in Marengo township, on
which he resided until the fall of 1869,
when he removed to the city of Marshall,
where he built a good home for himself
and wife, and is now enjoying the ample
fruits of a useful and honorable life.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

53

saw-mill, which was also destroyed. About 1860-61, Mr. Perrin began an ex-
tensive improvement of his water privilege on the Kalamazoo, erecting a distillery,
foundry, and machine-shop, and afterwards (1862) changing the former into a
paper-mill ; but the paper-mill is the only one of the extended improvements now
in operation, the same having been leased by the Rock River Paper Company in
1869, who repaired it, and have been operating it ever since. The present
flouring-mill on Rice creek was built in 1854, by Shepherd and Etheridge. It
is now owned and operated by Mr. Perrin. Thrashing-machines were manufac-
tured in Marshall about 1844 and afterwards by Etheridge & Co., Baker &
Nichols (Mr. Nichols, now of Shepherd & Nichols, of Battle Creek), by Camp-
bell, and by Comstock & Halsey. Steam-engines were also attempted, but not
extensively. In 1847, there were some twenty to thirty men employed in the
manufacture of such machines. Two foundries made stoves, mill-gearing, and
hollow-ware. Plows were made by Nichols, and also by Etheridge & Co. In
1844, Mr. W. C. P. Hunt built a steam-furnace, at which a good business was
done.

In 1845-46, shortly after the Michigan Central railroad was completed to Mar-
shall, the company built their shops in the city, where they remained until 1873,
when they were removed to Jackson, the people of the city not acceding to the
demand made upon them for a bonus of sixty thousand dollars as the price of
the retention of the shops at Marshall. The loss of them, however, was a hard
blow to Marshall's prosperity. Nathan Holland, Adams, and Rymes were wagon-
makers after 1840, and were rather extensive manufacturers. In 1868, Mr.
Perrin built a stone shop for spring- and axle-works, which was operated a short
time by Gibson, but soon ceased its operations, and is now lying unused. No
cars were ever built.

PRESENT MANUFACTURES.

The Novelty Iron Works, John Adams proprietor, began business in 1866, on
Marshall avenue, near the railroad crossing, until 1874, the works being destroyed
by the great fire of 1872. In 1874, when the railroad shops were removed, Mr.
Adams removed to his present location on Exchange street and Marshall avenue.
Until the removal of the railroad shops, he manufactured largely for the company.
He does now a general foundry work, makes all of the iron-work for the Wind-
Engine and Pump Company, and a fine business in edged tools, pruning-shears,
etc., and also in plows. He employs twenty men on an average during the season,
and his sales average two hundred and fifty dollars per day from March to Decem-
ber, and he has about twenty thousand dollars capital invested.

The Marshall Steam Mills were built in 1857, by C. S. Crane and John Hurd,
the present proprietors. The building is fifty by seventy feet, and is a three-
storied frame, with a brick engine-house, has six runs of stone, and does merchant
work exclusively. Its product in 1876 was thirty-six thousand barrels of flour
shipped, besides which the firm do a general trafiic in grain, pork, etc. Mr.
Crane's home is in Marshall, and Mr. Hurd's in Connecticut. J. M. Servoss is
superintendent and chief miller.

The Rock River Paper Company leased the Perrin paper-mill property in 1869,
and rebuilt the engine-room and rag-mill after the fire, which had destroyed
everything to the first floor, repaired the old machinery and added new, and have
operated it ever since, in the manufacture of building and carpet paper, and dry
felting. The company makes a specialty at this mill of red cedar carpeting, which,
by its pungent and yet not unpleasant odor, is " death to moths." It is manu-
factured from the offal of saw-mills in the manufacture of lumber of that variety.
It is patent measured and marked in the roll. In 1876 the mill's product was
1,431,098 pounds of roofing paper, 509,136 pounds of carpeting, and 100,000
pounds of dry felt. The mill is running out just at this present writing (May,
1877) 240,000 pounds of dry felt for the Singer Sewing-Machine Company of
South Bend, Indiana, for packing purposes. W. H. H. Minot is the resident
superintendent at Marshall.

The planing-mill and sash-, door-, and blind-factory of T. Edgerton & Sons
(Sidney and George) occupy the building erected and operated by Nelson Church.
The senior Edgerton has been in business in Marshall for twenty-two years. The
firm have been in the planing-mill five years. They do a large contracting and
building business, and deal in lumber. Employ twenty-five men on an average
during the season.

The Emerald Mills were built in 1848, about two miles west of the city hall,
by S. S. Alcott, on Bear creek, and operated for a time by water-power, but
subsequently steam-power was introduced, by which they have since been run.
The mills have four runs of stone, and do an exclusively merchant business.
George Ingersoll operated the mills from 1852 to 1858, as agent. In 1860 he
and his brother Chester bought them, and have operated them ever since. Their
product in 1876 was fifteen thousand barrels.

The Peters Brothers' Manufacturing Company organized for business August

21, 1872 ; George B. Peters, president, George B. Murray, vice-president, C. P.
Dibble, treasurer, with a paid up capital of forty-five thousand dollars. The
company makes a specialty of the Warren hoe, of which a large product was
turned out in 1876, valued at forty thousand dollars. Twenty-seven persons are
employed during the season.

The Marshall Wind-Engine and Pump Company, P. A. Spicer, C. S. Crane,
and M. J. Alexander, was organized January 1, 1872, and employ from fifteen
to eighteen hands. Their total sales for 1876 were four hundred and fifty of
their celebrated pumps and engines. Jonathan Miller is the general superin-
tendent.

J. L. Dobbins is engaged in the manufacture of hot-air furnaces, having begun
the business in 1872, after having had his sash-, door-, and blind-factory de-
stroyed by fire in Perrinville. He employs five persons, and sold fifty-four fur-
naces in 1876, at two hundred and fifty dollars each.

M. J. Alexander, planing-mill and lumber dealer, has been eleven years in the
business of lumber, and six years in the mill ; employs five persons, and manu-
factures mouldings, etc.

George A. Bullard — foundry — employs four men, and began in 1871 to build
up a business on his own efforts. He does a fair business in agricultural imple-
ments.

Hindenach, Bestel & Hoffman are engaged in the manufacture of wagons,
carriages, sleighs, etc., and have been in the business as a firm five years, and
employ eight persons. They sold sixty vehicles in 1876.

John Hindenach and Alexander Skinner have been engaged twelve years in
wagon and carriage manufacturing. They employ six men.

A. Rimes has been twenty years a wagon-maker, and carries on his trade in
Marshall, and employs from five to eight persons.

Nelson Church, after thirty-seven years in the sash, door, and blind manufac-
ture, in 1875 began to manufacture wagons, and employs in the busiest season
from sixteen to twenty men.

C. E. Brooks owns and operates a flouring-mill in the city, principally confined
to custom-work, grinding from three hundred to four hundred bushels per day,
and doing a large city and country trade. Mr. Brooks shipped extensively in
1876.

The present flouring-mill on Rice creek was built in 1854, and is now owned
and operated by H. J. Perrin, exclusively for merchant- work.

BREWING.

The brewing business of Marshall is a factor in the city's prosperity. There
are three breweries in operation and one malt-house. Thomas Boning com-
menced brewing in a small way ten years ago, and now has a fine establishment,
solidly built of brick, and capacious and conveniently arranged. He keeps in
stock eight hundred barrels of beer. His vats are of peculiar construction and
immense size. One of one hundred and eighty-five barrels carried off the first
award at Philadelphia, at the International Exposition. The vats are made
with heads at both ends, the beer being pumped into the same through the
bottom.

Nunneman & Lutz are lessees of the Myers brewery, and make about four hun-
dred barrels per year. Myers began twenty years ago, and the establishment,
though small, is very complete in its details.

Effinger Brothers occupy the old Morse brewery, built in 1853, the first one
built in the city, but which lay idle for several years, until the present proprie-
tors came into possession, in 1875. They handle from five hundred to six hun-
dred barrels per annum.

Swarthout k Briggs own the malt-house, which has been in operation about
five years. Five hundred bushels of malt are manufactured there per day during
the season, which is shipped to all parts of the country. They are heavy buyers
of barley.

Arthur & Kennedy built a brick brewery near the iron bridge, for the manu-
facture of ale, in 1869, and operated it some four or five years, but it is now idle.

The Marshall Gas Company was organized in 1872, under the name of the
National Building Company of St. Louis, and in 1874 the name was changed to
its present designation. Three miles of mains are laid down in the city, and about
one hundred and twenty-five thousand cubic feet of gas are manufactured annu-
ally. J. M. Woodson is president of the company, George W. Updike, secretary,
and George T. Phelps, treasurer. The capital stock is forty thousand dollars.
Several private gas-making machines are in use about the city, put in by this
company.

COOPERAGE.

Edward Magee has the most extensive cooper-shop in the city, and has been
the longest in business. He came from Boston to Marshall to take charge of the
cooper-shop of Alcott & Morse in 1855. Alcott & Morse were extensively en-

54

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

gaged in milling at the time, and Mr. Alcott had been so engaged since 1838 in
the county. The firm had connected coopering with their milling business, and
Mr. Magee worked for them until the summer of 1857, when he commenced the
business for himself in his present stand on Green street, between Eagle and Jef-
ferson, where he has continuously carried on his trade. He employs nine men
the year through. His manufactures for the year 1876 were thirty thousand
flour barrels, one thousand cider and packing barrels, and some four hundred
butter tubs, the whole, together with a large repairing business, footing up a value
of some sixteen thousand dollars.

Messrs. Town & Beals, on the south side, carry on a small business, being the
successors of Filkins. who used to employ ten to twelve men.

FURNITURE.

Martin Weimer employs ten men in the manufacture of furniture and fine
cabinet work. His bank furniture is very finely wrought indeed, one of his jour-
neymen, Jacob Burkel, excelling in that line. He succeeded J. F. Grans in
March, 1877, who was in the furniture line for fourteen or more years previously.
F. A. Kingsbury, the old pioneer furniture-maker, is also in business yet.

THE CIGAR-MANUFACTURERS

are G. T. Beebe, J. S. Benjamin & Co., and J. W. Freed. The New England
Cigar Company have been engaged in the business for many years, but are not at
present manufacturing.

MUSIC-PUBLISHERS.

J. S. White & Co. have been engaged in music publishing since 1870. The
house was established as music-dealers in 1860. They have now about one hun-
dred copyrights, and issue two each month. Major Joseph Barton, now deceased,
has been their most popular composer, his piece. ■" Gently Down the Stream of
Time,'' having reached a sale of fifty thousand copies, and the tide of its popular-
ity has not begun to ebb yet. Another composition of this writer, "Are we For-
gotten when we're gone?" is also very deservedly popular. Prof. C. N. Colwell
also has composed several pieces which are well received by the musical public,
among them "A Sigh," and "I. will Remember Thee," being the most popular.
Charles Grobe is another popular composer whose productions are issued by this
house. The rooms of the firm are at 84 State street, the publishing department
being on the third floor, the music-rooms on the second, where musical instru-
ments are exhibited and kept in stock, while the retail salesrooms occupy the first
floor.

PIONEER AND PRESENT TRADE.

The first merchant to open a stock of goods in Marshall was Charles D. Smith,
who came to the village in 1832 with a small stock of general merchandise, and
began trading on the west side of the public square, in the south end of Engel's
present dwelling-house. Smith came from Lansingburg, New York. He was after-
wards clerk of the courts from 1833 to 1836. Charles Winslow, from Brock-
port, New York, came in in the spring of 1833 with a stock of goods, Trowbridge
& Babcock conducting the business as Winslow's agents. Trowbridge is now in
Kalamazoo. The stock of Winslow was more extensive than Smith's. Winslow
was on the same side of the square, two doors south of Smith's. Winslow came
on again in the winter of 1833-34, and closed his business out in the spring of
1834, and returned east. He sold his goods to Sidney Ketchum, who removed
them to the east end of the village, on the east of the square. The third stock was
bought by Henry Hewitt, who came in 1834. Boville Shumway started in
trade on Rice Creek in 1835, George S. Wright being engaged with him as clerk.
This year, too, the first hardware-store and tin-shop was opened by S. S. Burpee.
Charles P. Dibble opened his first stock of goods in the spring of 1836, and
continued in the same line of business until January, 1877, when he retired, and
was succeeded by his son, Charles A. Dibble, who at present represents the old
and firmly-established house.

In June, 1836, Chaunoey M. Brewer and Charles T. Gorham, then young
men on a tour of observation for a location to begin life's business seriously and
in earnest, possessed of little save good business qualities and a determination to
succeed, arrived at Marshall and selected it as a point for business, and formed a
copartnership, and obtained a stock of goods, which they opened the same month.
This connection lasted until* 1840, when Mr. Gorham withdrew from the firm
and turned his attention to banking. Mr. Brewer associated with him Messrs.
Dusenbury and Butler, and continued the connection until 1845, when they re-
tired, and Mr. Brewer has since then been in trade alone. His sons, Charles D.
and Edgar G., now conduct the mercantile business, their father giving his per-
sonal attention to his other financial interests. He is reputed to be the wealthiest
man in the county. In 1837, Schuyler & Wallingford opened a hardware store,
and kept a heavy stock, and were in the trade for a number of years. Mr.
Schuyler is now an eminent Episcopalian, divine in St. Louis. J. M. Parsons

and George S. Wright began trading in 1836, and, Mr. Parsons is still engaged
in that line at the present time. Brewer & Gorham built the front of the present
brick store of Mr. Brewer's in 1838, having opened their first stock on the
opposite side of the street, and farther west. Parsons & Wright built the Par-
sons block. Mr. Wright is now engaged in banking. Comstock & Halsey
began trading also in 1837 in general merchandise, and also added a druggist's
department to the business. They were also heavy manufacturers for many years.
They occupied afterwards the brick building opposite the Marshall House. In
1840, A. 0. Hyde opened a drug-store, paints, oils, etc., and is still in the same
line of trade, having been continuously interested therein during the whole
period. Lewis & Thompson were in trade in June, 1836, and had been some
time previously. S. J. Burpee, a son of the first hardware merchant of the
village forty-two years ago, represents the old pioneer in the same line in the city
of to-day. Asa B. Cook was for twenty-five years a prominent merchant of
Marshall, and retired a few years since, surrendering his trade to a son. J. W.
Fletcher, Cronin Brothers, and Jere. Cronin, Jr., prominent merchants of to-day,
began their business lives in Marshall, and have built up their trade to extended
proportions by their own management and foresight. H. M. & P. Hempstead
are leading merchants in the dry-goods line, and carry probably the heaviest stock
in the city. I. S. Peters & Brothers (three brothers) are in the hardware line,
two other brothers are manufacturers in Marshall, and three others of the brothers
of this family are heavy traders elsewhere.

PIONEER ARTISANS.

The first blacksmith-shop was put up by Peter Chisholm, in 1831, and the
second one by Lansing Kingsbury, in 1833. The first shoemaker was H. C.
Goodrich, in 1832, afterwards sheriff of the county ; and the first tailor was Wil-
liam It. McCall, who came in 1833, and, having no fire in his shop, had to bake
his goose at a neighbor's. He is still pursuing the even tenor of his way, with

" Stitch, stitch, stitch,
Band and gusset and seam,"

though Elias Howe's simple invention of a needle with the eye in its point has
done away with much of the slow work of ye olden time. The other three of his
companion-journeymen are laid to rest. Mr. McCall is the oldest living business
man in the city in point of location. The first harness-maker was Mr. Brockway.

BANKING.

The history of the old Calhoun County bank and the " wild cat" Marshall
bank, is given in the general history of banking in the county. Hon. Charles
T. Gorham began the private banking business in 1840, and followed it several
years, until the national banks were established. Horace J. Perrin also engaged
similarly in or about 1858. In the year 18G3 the Bank of Michigan was
chartered under the State banking law with a capital of $100,000, Joseph Sibley,
president, and William Powell, cashier. On June 14, 1865, the bank was re-
organized under the national banking law as the " National Bank of Michigan,"
with the following directory: Horace J. Perrin, president; William Powell,
cashier; Manlius Mann, Samuel S. Lacey, Ennis Church, J. M. Bulkley. In
1866-68, John B. Frink and M. D. Strong were cashiers, and in 1876 Mr.
Powell resumed the position, and has held it ever since. The capital, which was
$100,000 at the organization, was increased in 1874 to $200,000. The present
board of directors is as follows : H. J. Perrin, president ; A. T. Vary, vice-
president; William Powell, cashier; M. Mann, Ennis Church, Byron Church.
The quarterly statement of April 14, 1877, shows the condition of the bank to
be as follows : capital stock paid in, surplus and undivided profits, $259,115.14 j
National bank notes outstanding, $180,000, secured by $200,000 in United States
bonds ; individual deposits, subject to check and on certificates, $56,452.22 ; loans
and discounts, $222,737.64 ; other stocks, bonds, and mortgages, $20,554.99 ; due
from approved reserve agents and other National banks, $17,499.09 ; real estate
and furniture, $13,650 ; cash on hand, legal-tender notes, redemption fund, etc.,
$21,085.64 ; notes and bills rediscounted, $10,000. The total assets of the bank
amounted to $495,567.36, and the total liabilities other than to its own stock-
holders and for circulation, $66,452.22.

On the 5th day of August, 1865, the First National bank was organized, and
commenced business October 9, 1865, in the office of Charles T. Gorham. Mr.
Gorham, president ; Charles P. Dibble, vice-president ; George S. Wright, cashier.
William It. Schuyler, George B. Murray, Asa B. Cook, Pratt A. Spicer, and
Devillo Hubbard were the first board of directors, and the present board, with
the exception of Mr. Schuyler and Mr. Spicer, who have been succeeded by C.
G. Crane and M. D. Stevens. The quarterly statement of April 14, 1877, makes
the following exhibit of the condition of the bank: capital stock paid in, sur-

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

55

plus and undivided profits, $209,553.16 ; circulation outstanding, $85,900 ; indi-
vidual deposits subject to check or certificate, $158,047.21 ; loans and discounts,
$219,125.10; other bonds, mortgages, and stocks aside from bonds to secure
circulation, $31,130.09 ; United States bonds to secure circulation, $100,000 ;
due from approved reserve agents and other National and State banks and bankers,
$34,375.06; real estate, furniture, etc., $24,613.63 ; cash on hand, $37,222.99;
redemption and other items, $7134.19. Total assets, $453,501.06, and total lia-
bilities other than to stockholders and on account of circulation, $158,047.21.

The National City bank of Marshall was organized July 6, 1872, with the
following board of directors : G. W. Bentley, president ; Martin D. Strong,
cashier ; John Houston, John Adams, John C. Fitzgerald, William Cook, Loomis
Hutchinson, Joseph Bentley, M. J. Alexander, and Samuel J. Burpee, which
remains the same, except that James Downs and C. H. Cook have been added, and
S. V. R. Lepper is the present cashier.

The last quarterly statement of the bank, dated April 14, 1877, gives the fol-
lowing exhibit of its condition : Capital stock paid in, surplus and undivided
profits, $120,167.78; circulation outstanding, $45,000; individual deposits,
$54,923.55 ; loans and discounts, $135,365.25 ; U. S. bonds to secure circulation,
$50,000 ; other bonds, etc., $268.46 ; due from approved reserve agents and other
National banks, $11,314.70; real estate, furniture, etc., $7675; expense and
premium account, $3398.03 ; cash on hand, $10,819.89 ; redemption fund, $2250.
Total assets, $220,091.33 ; total liabilities other than to stockholders' and circula-
tion account, $54,923.55. Excess, $165,067.78.

The grand aggregate of banking capital and surplus in the city foots up $588,-
836.08, the total deposits being $269,422.98, and the total loans and discounts
being $567,227.99. The total assets of the banks amounted to $1,169,159.75,
being an excess over their liabilities other than to their own stockholders, and on
circulation account, of $889,636.79.

POST-OFFICE.

The first post-office in Calhoun County was established in Marshall, in 1832,
George Ketchum being appointed the postmaster, who used to keep the postal
matter for the settlement in a cigar-box. The mail was brought in on horseback,
and came semi-occasionally for some time, until the post-route was established, in
1836, from Jackson via Marshall to Centreville, when the mail was brought once
each week for a time, then semi-weekly, and finally daily. Bev. John D. Pierce
succeeded Mr. Ketchum, and kept the office in his double log house, on the site
of the house now occupied by Manlius Mann, on Mansion street. Mr. Pierce
utilized his clock-case for a receptacle for the postal matter, without detriment to
the time-piece, the pendulum having full swing without interference from the
mail. Charles D. Smith next succeeded to the appointment, being appointed by
President Jackson, and re-appointed by Van Buren, holding the office about six
years. Emerson T. Wakefield succeeded Mr. Smith for a short lease of power,
only six months, and James M. Parsons came in under Harrison for three and a
half years. During Mr. Parsons' incumbency there was an attempt made to oust
him from the office, and three hundred of his fellow-citizens, irrespective of party,
remonstrated against his removal, and paid him a high compliment for efficiency
and non-partisanship in the conduct of the office. Zenas Tillotson served four
years under President Polk, and was succeeded by George S. Wright for a term
of the same duration under Taylor and Fillmore. Dr. J. H. Montgomery carried
off the prize for eight years under Presidents Pierce and Buchanan, and stepped
aside for Seth Lewis, who was appointed by Mr. Lincoln, and held the office five
and a half years. James Monroe was appointed by President Johnson, but hardly
was warm in his seat when, at the end of six months, S. S. Lacey came in for
two years. Herbert A. Bead then was the incumbent under Grant for five years,
and was succeeded by the present incumbent, Samuel J. Burpee, February 21,
1874. William B. Lewis is the efficient and courteous assistant, who presides at
the money-order office. He occupied the position of assistant postmaster under
Seth Lewis, Mr. Lacey, and Bead, also. By his kindness we here give a resume
of the business of the office for the year 1876 : money orders issued, domestic,
2737; amounting to $32,825.31 ; 8 Canadian for 6 months, beginning July 1,
1876, $97.73 ; 25 British, $414.50 ; and 12 German, $84. Total number issued,
2784; amount, $33,421.54. Orders paid, 1627 ; domestic, $23,140.22 ; 2 Cana-
dian, $24.56 ; 1 British, $11.91 ; 8 German, $76.13. Total number paid, 1638 ;
amount, $23,252.82. Total amount issued and paid, $56,674.36. Fees received
for orders issued, $337.25. 249 registered letters were dispatched, and 603
received and delivered during the year. During the year there were stamps and
stamped envelopes and postal cards sold to the value of $5392.53. The domestic
money-order business was established in this office July 1, 1865 ; the British,
October 1, 1871 ; the German, July 1, 1875; and the Canadian, July 1, 1876.
The first mail contractor was Mr. I. Camp, who carried it between Jackson and
Marshall in 1833.

RAILROADS.

The Michigan Central railroad, the only line running through Marshall now in
operation, was completed to this place August 10, 1844, the same being con-
structed thus far, and thence onward to Kalamazoo, by the State, while it was a
part of the gigantic system of internal improvements initiated by the State
authorities on the adoption of the State constitution. The shops of the company
were established at Marshall soon after the road was completed to this point, and
were a great aid to the prosperity and advancement of the material progress of
the city until the year 1873, when, as previously stated, the shops were removed
to Jackson.

The Mansfield, Coldwater and Mackinaw (or Marshall and Coldwater) railroad
has been graded through the city, but is not yet tied or ironed. The total receipts
of the Central road for the year 1844, for its entire length, amounted to $211,-
169.84, of which $83,551.03 were for passenger traffic, and the balance for
freight and mails. In 1847 there were 21,187 barrels of flour shipped from
Marshall against 15,354 barrels in 1846. During the year 1876, the business
of the road transacted at the Marshall station was as follows: there were
22,459,952 pounds of freight received, and 20,430,272 pounds forwarded, the
earnings on which amounted to $66,202.74. The passenger traffic amounted to
$19,123.15, making the total earnings $85,325.89. There were 33,325 barrels
of flour and 104,322 bushels of grain shipped. J. W. Nutting, station agent,
has placed us under obligations for the foregoing statements, who, together with his
assistant, F. T. Warmington, furnished the same to us. James A. Way was one
of the first agents, if not the first, and held the position for many years. Z. Til-
lotson was the first contractor.

Wells & Co. first established an express to Marshall in September, 1844, which
was operated under different names until the reorganization and redistribution of
routes, when the American Express Company secured the Central road, and its
office was established at Marshall. S. Wormley has been the agent for ten years.
The earnings of the office for 1876 were: on shipments, $3697.05 ; on receipts,
$5483.15 ; total, $9180.20.

HOTELS.

The first hotel that was opened in the county of Calhoun was that of S. Camp,
in Marshall, and known as the Exchange, and situated at the east end of the
village. It was a frame building, two stories high, and stood on the corner of
State street and Marshall House square. It was opened in the spring of 1833.
Previous to this time, however, Mr. J. D. Pierce, by agreement with certain parties
of whom he bought his house, a double log, threw it open for the accommodation
of the public, but never put out a sign or kept a tavern. In 1835 the National
House was built, the first brick building erected in the county, and opened with
great eclat, January 1, 1836, with a grand soiree dansante by mine host, Andrew
Mann.

The Marshall House Company built in 1838 that, at the time, most elabo-
rately finished and furnished caravansary, at a cost of thirty thousand dollars.
It surpassed, at the time, any hotel in the State or northwest, and was a noted
place of resort for years. From all parts of the State the Marshall House was the
Whig headquarters, and the National that of the Democrats. They were also
the rallying-points of the respective upper and lower villages, as long as the rivalry
between the two. ends of the village continued. W. L. Merrifield was the first
landlord of the Marshall. The National is now known as the Facey House, its
name having been changed several years ago. The Marshall House is tenantless,
and, though a gloomy-looking pile at present, has not lost all traces of its former
grandeur. The heavy fluted pillars that form the supports of its balconies are
fast rotting away, and the stone walls of the court give it a prison-like aspect, but
its iron-corniced windows and large window-panes show the style of the old house
to have been far in advance of its day in Marshall.

The Herndon House was built in 1856-57, by Hon. W. H. Brown and John
Van Arman, and was opened by Moses Park, May 13, 1858. It was kept as a
first-class hotel until September 24, 1875, when it was burned, while George W.
Watson was keeping it. The walls have been repaired, and a new roof put on,
but never refitted inside. At this fire there was a distressing loss of life and injury
among the inmates, the particulars of which are given elsewhere.

The Forbes House, the Michigan Central railroad eating-house, was built by
the company in 1860, and first kept by A. Y. Pantlind, who was succeeded by
W. H. Witt, under whose management it acquired the name of the " chicken-pie
house," from a standard dish on the bill of fare of the same. Mr. Witt was suc-
ceeded by Mr. Pantlind again, who now keeps the same in connection with eating-
houses elsewhere on the Central road, and at Grand Rapids.

The Witt House was opened as a hotel in September, 1875, by the present
popular caterer, who keeps a first-class house, and has a good name among that
most critical and exacting class, the commercial travelers. Henry Witt, a brother

56

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

of the landlord, is the chief manager, and testifies, by his success in pleasing his
guests, that he "knows how to keep a hotel." The building was originally
erected for an opera hall, stores, and offices, by four gentlemen of Marshall, in
1867-68.

The Fowler House is what was once called the Mechanics' Hall, built in 1845,
by the Mechanics' Association, and Dusberry and Brucer. Its present host is
Jacob Lockwood. The old landlords, besides those already named, were Z. Tillot-
son, who for a short time succeeded Camp in the Exchange ; Yandenburg, who
succeeded Tillotson. The following were in the Marshall House after Merrifield :
John Stuart, Sargent & Dryer, Nat. Holman, John Hollon, Phelps (1843), P.
Kane (1844), L. Kingsbury (1847), Smith & Robinson, and Davis, the latter
being the last landlord in the house. In the National, Volney Alcott, Platner,
Watrons, Phelps, and Acker held sway. Dr. Facey came into it about 1861, and
changed its name to the Facey House, his widow now owning and keeping it.
The landlords of the Herndon who succeeded Parke were W. P. Humphrey,
George F. Davis, L. S. Luce, and Watson.

THE BUSINESS OF 1877 — TRADE.

General Stock. — J. Cronin, Jr., Charles A. Dibble, William Martin.
Dry Goods.— H. M. & P. Hempstead, C. D. & E. G. Brewer, Phelps & Mur-
phy, James Martin, H. E. Phelps, George Perrittf

Groceries, Crockery, Flour and Feed, etc. — J. M. Laberteaux, C. T. Cook, Mrs.
James Donovan, Peter J. Higgins, Cronin Bros., Lemuel Bradley, J. & R. Butler,
Wm. M. Bordwell, John Wiseman, Solomon McNames, A. B. Smith, Andrew
Watson, William Bohanna, Kucher & *Silsbe, H. G. Brooks, E. A. & F. C.
Stuart.

Hardware. — I. S. Peters & Bros., S. J. Burpee, W. W. Smith & Co.
Clothing. — J. W. Fletcher, Frederick Karstaedt, L. Hecht & Co.
Drugs and Medicines, etc. — A. 0. Hyde, A. D. Schuyler, William Elsson, B.
A. Gallup & Son (compounders of patent medicines), F. L. Henderson, Wm. B.
Church.

Books and Stationery. — M. S. O'Keefe & Co.

Ladies 1 Furnishing Goods. — Mrs. S. A. Coles, — also extensively engaged in
dressmaking, — Mrs. A. C. Wilson.

Millinery. — Miss L. Hughes, Mrs. Phebe Merrill.

Boots and Shoes. — J. M. Parsons, Nicholas Devereux, G. F. Kast & Co.,
Henry Klugman.

Jewelry, Silverware, Clocks and Watches, etc. — Gill & Watson, H. C. Hulett, 1
A. H. Cathcart, C. Herbert Thompson.

Music Publishers and Dealers, and Musical Instruments. — J. S. White & Co.,
L. W. Brown.

Harnesses.— E. R. Mills, Nicholas Yogt, W. A. Waltz, D. Paddock, Jacob
Sutler. The latter is a blind man, but works deftly with his needle and knife,
and by his industry supports comfortably a large family.

Agricultural Implements. — D. B. Bordwell & Sons, Bosley & Cuykendall.
Produce. — Bosley & Raymond.
News- Room. — Mrs. A. C. Paris (at post-office).
Furniture.— G. S. Barrett & Co., J. F. Gaus & Co.

Merchant Tailors. — William R. McCall, James M. Gamwell, Dennis O'Connor,
Thomas Callahan.

Tinware. — W. S. Wells, John J. Fahey.

Patent Solicitors and Model-Makers. — Otto L. Johnson, Welles Bros.
Notions and Wall Paper. — George W. Steele.
Bakerie?.—L. S. Lanse & Co., Jona. Snyder.
Marble- Cutter. —A. W. Houghton.
Carriage- Trimmers. — Hunt Bros.
Gunsmith. — I. G. Evans.

Meat Markets. — Collins & Hertkorn, Cox & Hotchkiss, Louis Stein.
Hotels.— Witt House, W. H. Witt, proprietor; Fobes House and Michigan
Central railroad eating-house, A. V. Pantlind, proprietor; Fowler House, Facey
House, Exchange, National, and Marshall House.

Liveries. — Peck & Miller (omnibus and hack line), Charles A. Gardanier, Wil-
liam H. Ward, William H. Johnson.

Michigan Central Railroad. — J. W. Nutting, station agent.
Western Union Telegraph.

Post- Office.— S. J. Burpee, postmaster; William R. Lewis, money-order clerk.
Banks. — National bank of Michigan, William Powell, cashier ; First National
bank, George S. Wright, cashier ; City National bank, S. V. R. Leiper, cashier.
Printing-Offices. — Morgan Bates (Statesman), Z. H. Denison (Expounder).
Newspaper Subscription Agency. — William R. Lewis, assistant postmaster, has
been in the business ten years, and has a good line of clubs.

PROFESSIONS.

The bar of Marshall is given in the general history of the bar of the county.

Physicians, regular school. — Drs. J. H. Montgomery, H. L. Joy, J. F. Smiley,
C. E. Luskain, E. L. Roberts, S. N. Coons, Mrs. S. A. Peterman. Homoeopathic. —
W. B. Church. Eclectic. — H. A. Peterman, specialist and compounder of patent
medicines.

Photographers. — S. B. Smith, J. E. Mast.

Portrait-Painter. — E. A. Turner.

Musical Composers and Teachers. — Professor C. N. Col well (noted), William
M. Phelps (a genuine artist by natural gift. An enthusiast in his profession).

Dentists. — C. H. Eggleston, William Woodruff, M. H. Snyder.

EDUCATION.

Since the first settlers came to the site of the city of Marshall in 1831, through-
out its whole history of pioneer life and later development to the present, an air
of intelligence, culture, and refinement has pervaded the community and been
associated with its citizens as a class. The pioneers — and all who came to the
village prior at least to 1838 can justly be so classed — came from the educated
communities of New England and New York, and brought their institutions with
them. Before there were a dozen children of suitable age to receive the instruc-
tion of the schools, true to their instincts, the settlers, Sidney Ketchum and two
or three others, summoned a Miss Brown, from Ann Arbor, to take charge of the
few scholars, who were assembled in a loft for want of a better place, and the
school ma'am was au fait accompli. In 1832 a school-house was built, which
served for a church as well (one society having been formed in October, 1831,
and another in May, 1832), and with a saw-mill, flouring-mill, and store, the
foundation of a city was laid. Eliza Ketchum taught the first school in the
school-house, which was built on Mansion street, near the present parsonage of
the Presbyterian church, and is now standing, directly in the rear of its original
location, and doing service as a stable. The school ma'am is dead. In this build-
ing not only were schools taught and the gospel of salvation proclaimed according
to the tenets of different denominations, but the blind goddess also held the scales
of justice in equipoise, and dignified judges sat in solemn judgment on the foibles
and follies of their fellows, while learned barristers plumed their fancies for
rhetorical flights, and badgered witnesses to their hearts' delight. Here, too,
assembled the people in their sovereignty, and invested their chosen ones with
the dignity and responsibility of making and executing the laws for their govern-
ment. In short, this pioneer school-house, the first in the county, was the gen-
eral rallying-point for all public assemblies for several years until the Presbyterian
session-house and court-house were built, when it was abandoned to its primal
use. From the first agitation of the question of the removal of the capitol from
Detroit, not only did the citizens of Marshall indulge the hope the same would
be located in their village, but such location was also looked upon with favor
elsewhere in the State.

In the apportionment of advantages, as canvassed by those in interest, Ann
Arbor was to be assigned the university, Jackson the penitentiary, and to Mar-
shall the capitol was assigned. And, in 1839, a bill to this effect passed the
Senate by a vote of nine to six, but was defeated in the lower house. Roseate
visions passed in review before the minds of the citizens ; they builded castles of
the most graceful proportions and airy elegance, above whose battlements imagina-
tion pictured the sunniest skies, and bathed their spires with the most brilliant
hues. And though these castles were of the gossamer of which dreams are
woven, and were dissipated like the morning mist before the rising sun when the
capitol was finally located in Lansing, in 1845, yet the results of this architectural
display were by no means as unsubstantial as the cause which led to them.
This expectation had gone abroad, and attracted to this cynosure of many eyes
able men of all professions, who located and indulged in the same pleasing visions.
But they did more than dream. Brilliant attorneys, able divines, and learned
doctors, fresh from their alma maters, or rich with storied experience, came,
bringing their culture, and a love for and a knowledge of the systems from which
that culture had been gained. They found a foundation already laid in the little
framed school-house and in the inclination of the people, and straightway they began
to build the walls of the edifice that in this year of grace, a trifle more than forty
years since their coming, shows its splendid capitals and pillared domes, resulting
from the wisdom and work of two of Marshall's own sons, Rev. John D. Pierce
and Hon. Isaac E. Crary. The high school of the Marshall of 1877 is the out-
growth of the organic law of the Commonwealth, placed in the constitution thereof
by Crary, as chairman of the committee on education in the first convention to
clothe the "amoenam peninsulam" with the powers of independent sovereignty,
and Pierce was the adviser and counselor, and finally the public executor of the
most wholesome law that had as yet, at that period, been incorporated in the
constitution of any State in the American Union. From that time forward the

Mary E. Brackett.

Albert E. Brackett.

Residence of A.E.BRACKE.1T, Dealer w WEBER t HAZELTON BROTHERS, ERNEST GABLER,

HALLETT SiCuMSTON PlANOS .ALSO AGENT FOR THE CELEBRATED SMITH AMERICAN ORGAN. COLLECTING- AGENT FOR

Southern Michigan ^Northern Indiana. Res. 15 Kalamazoo Avenue, Marshall , Michigan.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

57

classic institutions of Marshall multiplied and throve for many years, indifferently
perhaps at times, but none the less surely was the problem being wrought out,
which has found its full solution in the Union school of the present, supported
from the public purse, and free to all, of whatever sex, country, color, or condition.

In 1838, the Marshall college was chartered, and the institution endowed with
certain real estate on the south side of the river by the liberal citizens of the
village, and a preparatory school, known as the Marshall academy, established.
Rev. John P. Cleveland came to the village in 1839, as president of the college,
and conducted the academy for four years. He was an able Presbyterian divine,
and a most excellent instructor. In 1842-43, Mr. Cleveland retired from the
academy, the scheme of the college having failed of success, and removed to
Cincinnati, as the associate of Dr. Lyman Beecher. Hon. Nathaniel A. Balch,
now of Kalamazoo, was also connected with the school. In 1842, Prof. Patch
was the principal, and after the reopening, Rasselas L. Sears was connected with
the academy. In 1844-45, Prof. Millette was the principal. Under the manage-
ment of Mr. Cleveland the school attained a high reputation at home and abroad.

In 1840, the Marshall Female Seminary was opened by Miss Lucy A. Sey-
mour, the first term beginning in March of that year. Dr. Daniel Hudson was
the president of the association, and Dr. Comstock, secretary. In 1837-38 the
Marshall Village Company put up a building for a young ladies' seminary, and
Miss Wood was engaged as a teacher. In December, 1844, the Marshall seminary
was opened by Misses E. D. Collins and E. H. Landon. The school was under the
management of eight trustees, viz., Drs. Hudson,' Greeves, and Comstock, and
Joseph Chedsey, A. C. Robinson, George Woodruff, Sidney Ketchum, and J.
Wright Gordon.

The Marshall Collegiate Institute, for both sexes, was opened in October, 1845,
in the academy building, with Samuel S. Fleming, A.B., and George Willard as
preceptors. Mr. George Willard was the member to Congress of the third district
of Michigan from 1872 to 1876, and is now the editor and proprietor of the
Battle Creek Journal. In May, 1846, Professor Barnes opened a Commercial
academy, and for a short time continued its instruction. He was preceded by S.
Mackay in the academy, mathematical and classical, for a brief term. All of the
foregoing were supported by those families only who received the benefit of the
instruction given therein, except such donations as the liberal supporters of educa-
tion made from time to time to continue the schools.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

The second school-house was built in 1843-44, on Green street: a small brick
building, east of the present high school building. On September 29, 1847, dis-
tricts Nos. 1 and 2, being in the upper and lower villages of Marshall, were united,
and Isaac E. Crary was chosen moderator, George Woodruff director, and Robert
Williamson assessor. A vote was taken declaring for a new school-house, and
six hundred dollars appropriated towards the building of the same. The board
engaged Mr. Safford as principal, Mr. Andrews as assistant, in the " long school-
house," and Miss Tillotson as primary teacher. In April, 1848, the board
announced a classical department. The first Union school building was erected in
1848-49, E. T. Gregg architect, and Benjamin Drake and 0. P. Austin contractors;
contract price five thousand three hundred and fifty-seven dollars and ninety-one
cents. The school was first organized as a graded or Union school September 28,
1849, under the law of March 31, 1849. The trustees then elected were Hon.
Isaac E. Crary, one year; 0. P. Austin, two years; Hon. Charles P. Dibble, three
years ; Ira Woods, four years ; and Asa B. Cook was elected moderator, James
A. Way director ,- and William R. McCall assessor. In 1859 the school district
was reorganized under the law of that year, and six trustees were elected there-
after. The first ones under the reorganization were Joseph C. Frink and John
T. Yernor, one year; Hon. C. P. Dibble, E. 0. Crittenton, two years; Hon. S.
S. Lacey, Joseph Hollon, three years. The board was organized by choosing E.
0. Crittenton moderator, John T. Yernor, Jr., director, Joseph Hollon assessor.
In 1860 the three primary buildings in wards 1, 2, and 4 were erected at a cost
of eight thousand dollars, Sheldon Smith architect, E. 0. Crittenton superinten-
dent of construction. In 1868 the new central building was erected at a cost of
about seventy thousand dollars, G. P. Randall architect, Charles P. Dibble super-
intendent of construction. In 1872 the third ward primary building was erected
at a cost of twelve thousand five hundred dollars, Colonel William D. Buck con-
tractor, A. 0. Hyde superintendent of construction. There are five departments
into which the school is divided, viz., primary, — subdivided into first and second
primaries, of which there is one of each subdivision in each of the four wards of
the city, — first and second intermediate departments, grammar, and high school ;
the last four holding their sessions in the central building. The course of study
in the primary and intermediate departments and grammar school is confined to
the ordinary English branches of education. The courses of study in the high
school are as follows :

Preparatory Class.
Spring Term. — Elementary Algebra ; Analysis; Physical Geography ; Reading and Spelling.

GENERAL.

LATIN.

* CLASSICAL.

3 a

El. Algebra completed.

Analysis.

Physiology.

El. Algebra completed.
Latin, 1st Book.
Physiology.

El. Algebra completed.
Latin, 1st Book.
Physiology.

<

H

P3

Arithmetic, Higher.
General History.
Civil Government.

Arithmetic, Higher.
Latin, 1st Book compl'd.
Gen. His. or Civil Gov't.

Higher Arithmetic.
Latin, 1st Book completed.
General Hist, or Civil Gov't.

P*H

si

QQ

Arithmetic, Higher.
General History com-
pleted. Botany.

Arithmetic, Higher.
Latin Reader and Gram.,

Prose Composition.
General Hist, or Botany.

Higher Arithmetic.

Latin Reader, Grammar,

Prose Composition.
General History or Botany.

Arithmetic completed.
Natural Philosophy.
Rhetoric.

Arithmetic completed.
Latin Reader and Prose

Composition.
Rhetoric or Nat. Phil'y.

Higher Arithmetic completed.
Latin Reader and Prose Com-
position.
Greek Lessons.

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W Jg

£ w

Geometry.

Nat. Philosophy compl'd.

Rhetoric completed.

Geometry.

Latin, Caesar and Latin

Prose.
Nat. Phil'y or Rhetoric.
Ancient Geography.

Geometry.

Latin Csesar, and Prose Com-
position.
Greek Lesson and Grammar.
Ancient Geography.

1 m H

Geometry.
Chemistry.
Descriptive Astronomy.

Geometry.

Latin, Csesar, Rom. His.

Chemistry or Astronomy.

Geometry.

Latin, Csesar, Rom. History.

Greek Lesson and Grammar.

J*

Q
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i—i

ffl
EH

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W

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P
O

Oh g-4

Geometry.
Zoology.
Mental Science.

Geometry.
Latin, Cicero,

Prose Composition.
Zoology or Men. Science.

Geometry.
Latin Latin, Cicero, Latin Prose.
Greek, Translation and Com-
position.

Geometry.
Mental Science.
Geology.

Moral Science.
Plane Trigonometry.
English Literature.

Geometry.

Latin, Cicero.

Geology or Men. Science,

Geometry.

Latin, Cicero.

Greek, Anabasis, Comp.

Plane Trigonometry. j Plane Trigonometry.

Latin, Virgil, Prosody. 'Latin, Virgil, Prosody.
Eng. Lit. or Mor. Science.! Greek, Anabasis, Greek His
i tory.

Moral Science.
French.

Geometrical Drawing.
English Literature.

Higher Algebra.

French.

English Literature.

Higher Algebra.

French.

Reviews.

Latin, Virgil.
Geometrical Drawing.
Eng. Lit. or Mor. Science.
French.

Latin, Virgil.
Higher Algebra.
English Lit. or French.

Latin, Virgil.
Higher Algebra.
French.
Reviews.

Latin, Virgil.
Greek, Anabasis.
Greek, Prose Composition.
French or English Literature
(optional).

Latin, Virgil.
Greek, Anabasis.
Higher Algebra.

Latin, Virgil or Horace.

Greek, Anabasis.

Higher Algebra. — Reviews.

Rhetorical Exercises regularly during each year and course.

French Course.

First Year.

Fall Term. — Otto's Grammar, thirty-two Lessons.

Winter Term. — Otto's Grammar ; Translations.

Spring Term. — Otto's Grammar ; Williams' Conversations.

Second Year.

Fall Term. — Williams' Conversations, Le Cid, par Corneille Composition.
Winter Term. — Williams' Conversations, La Lit. Francaise Contemporaine.
Spring Term. — La Lit. Francaise Contemporaine ; Noel and Chapsal's Grammar.

German Course.

First Year.

Fall Term. — Ahn's Course, Practical Part, seventy Lessons.
Winter Term. — Ahn's Practical and Theoretical Course.
Spring Term. — Ahn's Course finished. Dictation Exercises.

Second Year.

Fall Term. — Worman's Grammar and Echo.

Winter Term. — Worman's Grammar and Echo continued.

Spring Term. — Worman's Grammar ; Marie Stuart ; Composition.

58

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Third Year.

Fall Term. — Worman's Grammar ; Syntax ; Marie Stuart.

Winter Term. — Hermann and Dorothea, or Nathan the Wise.

Spring Term. — Auerbach's Barfussele, or Joseph in the Snow ; Criticisms.

APPARATUS.

The high school is equipped with very excellent and quite extensive apparatus
for illustration and experiment, briefly enumerated as follows : In natural philos-
ophy, the apparatus includes a full assortment from a simple pulley to a compound
lever, etc., to illustrate mechanical powers ; eight illustrations of the centre of
gravity ; apparatus for central and centrifugal forces. In hydrostatics and hy-
draulics, pumps, the working of valves, and Tantalus cup, illustrating the prin-
ciple of the siphon ; and for specific gravity balance, a good assortment. Heat
is illustrated by a pulse-glass, compound bar, eonductometer, etc., and a Wollas-
ton's model illustrates the principle of the condensing engine. In pneumatics, a
large selection of fine apparatus illustrates that science ; and electricity is numer-
ously represented in the collection. Magnetism has also a fine display of illus-
trating apparatus, from the ordinary horse-shoe magnet to the telegraphic model
and vibrating electrotome. In optics, compound microscopes, prisms, mirrors,
disks, etc., are in the list. Chemistry has a very fine laboratory equipment, and
the astronomical apparatus is confined to lunatellus, tellurian, celestial globes,
and planisphere. Maps, charts, mathematical and geometrical forms, globes, etc.,
are in profusion where most needed.

" DIBBLE PRIZE FUND."

Through the generosity of Mr. Chas.
P. Dibble, as rewards for earnest effort,
a fund of five hundred dollars, to be
perpetual, has been by him set apart
and named as above, the interest of
which is annually awarded in prizes
among the various departments of the
central school to those pupils whose
record for scholarship, deportment, and
attendance during the Jear shall be
most meritorious, as follows, viz. :

High school department, 1st prize,
$10.00; 2d prize, $5.00. Grammar
school department, 1st prize, $10.00 ;
2d prize, $5.00. Second intermediate
department, 1st prize, $6.00 ; 2d prize,
$4.00. First intermediate department,
1st prize, $6.00 ; 2d prize, $4.00.

The names and standing of pupils
gaining these various prizes will be pub-
lished in the annual catalogue.

GRADUATES.

1869.— Herbert E. Davis, Henry M.
Haskell, Clarence S. Joy, all of Marshall.

In 1870 there were no sessions of high school, owing to non-completion of
central building.

1871.— Frank W. Boughton, Marcus J. Wells, Libbie A. Ingersoll, Anna C.
Wells, all of Marshall.

1872.— Frank L. Henderson, Jennie Gambie, Addie M. Hollon, Abbie P.
Ketchum, Marshall ; Myra A. Miller, Marengo ; Carrie M. Mitchell, Mary R.
Montgomery, Julia Morton, May L. Wright, Marshall.

1873.— Celia E. Boughton, Mary E. Davis, Mollie A. Downs, E. May Hen-
derson, Minnie W. Hyde, Carrie L. Ingersoll, Ruth S. Lacey, Marshall; Laura
M. Poole, Niles; Sara Ridg Schuyler, Belle Warren, Caroline S. Woodruff,
Marshall.

1874.— George Horton, Marengo; Julius M. Hutchinson, Emmett; James H.
Pond, Marshall town ; Nellie N. Bangs, Marshall; Julia M. Crossman, Marengo;
Cora A. Davis, Marshall; Minnie A. Hewitt, Marengo; Minnie Rice, Marshall
town ; Minnie J. Waugh, Fannie M. White, Marshall. Graduates in French
Course.— -Nellie N. Bangs, class of '74 ; Carrie M. Mitchell, class of '72 ; Sara
R. Schuyler, class of '73; Caroline S. Woodruff, class of '73, all of Marshall.

1875.— Mary Blakeslee, Marshall ; Mollie R. Browning, Libertytown, Mary-
land ; Mary K. Haskell, Delle McClure, Chester Aldrich, Marshall ; Walker I.
Houston, Fredonia; Milton M. Marble, Marengo. Graduates in French Course.
—Mary Barnes, Delle McClure, class of '75, Mary R. Montgomery, class of '72,
all of Marshall.

1876. — Clara Bickford, Marshall ; Eva Crossman, Marengo ; Mary E. Dickey,
Helen L. Dickey, E. May Drake, Gertrude C. Hunt, Minnie G. Ingersoll, Ida M.
Peters, Jennie M. Raymond, Addie E. Salter, Marshall ; Anna Van Yoorhees,
Jesse M. Hatch, Fredonia ; Charles Hutchinson, Emmett ; Willis P. Polhemus,
Fredonia. French Course.— -Mary K. Haskell, class of '75, Ida Phelps,* Marshall.

NAMES OF PRINCIPALS OR SUPERINTENDENTS FROM 1856.

1856-57, J. Eugene Tenney; 1857-59, Josiah T. Reade ; 1859-61, George
A. Graves; 1861-63, Walter S. Perry; 1863-64, Burton and W. S. Perry;
1864-65, J. E. Colby; 1865-66, A. C. Sargent and Jno. A. Banfield ; 1866-
67, Jno. A. Banfield; 1867-68, Isaac N. Otis; 1868-1877, Henry N. French.

In the early history of the Union school, about the year 1850, Josiah N.
Westcott, from central New York, was connected with the school as principal,
and was a most excellent instructor, and gained a good reputation as such in his
manag&ment of the school. He was a noted instructor also in his eastern home.

TEACHERS EMPLOYED FOR 1876 AND 1877.

High School— Remy N. French, A.M., Superintendent ; Miss Julia M. Barry,
Preceptress ; Miss Gertrude B. Smith, Assistant Preceptress ; Miss Ella M. Hill,
Teacher Modern Languages.

Grammar School— Mrs. F. G. N. Van Slick, Mrs. Sarah S. Hall.
First Intermediate Department. — Misses Mary C. Robinson, Amelia R. Condon.

Second Intermediate Department, —
Miss Helen Edgerton, Miss Delia
Denel.

First Ward Primary School. — Miss
Jane S. Givin, Miss Julia Morton.

Second Ward Primary School. —
Mrs. Julia E. Morse.

Third Ward Primary School. — Miss
Maria L. Root, Miss Helen L. Dickey,
Miss Mary E. Fredenburg.

Fourth Ward Primary School. —
Miss Minnie G. Ingersoll, Mrs. Lucy
Robinson, Mr. Peter D. Horton, Special
Teacher of Penmanship.

The following is a description of the
Central school building, a view of which
will be found in connection herewith :

The Central school building of Mar-
shall, Michigan, was erected an 1868,
and occupied in April, 1869. Its loca-
tion is in the heart of the city, occupy-
ing ''an entire block, which is inclosed
by a combination wood and iron fence,
of a neat and tasteful pattern, erected
at a cost of two thousand dollars. The
size of the building, outside of the walls,
is one hundred and ten by seventy-five
feet. It is brick, stained and penciled,
and of cut stone; is three stories in height above the basement, with a Mansard
roof of slate and tin. The main tower stands on the northwest corner, the ven-
tilating tower and shaft on the northeast. The building has three entrances, one
at each end for pupils, and one, the main entrance, in front. The entrances at
the ends are from the play-grounds and from the streets at each end of the block.
On the first floor are four school-rooms twenty-seven by thirty-three feet, which
have altogether three hundred and eight sittings. Connected with each room is
a large wardrobe belonging exclusively to it, furnished with hooks numbered to
correspond with the pupil's number in the register. Through these wardrobes
all scholars pass into and from their respective rooms. Each school-room has also
another door from the hall, so that at opening or dismissal every scholar is under
the eye of the teacher while passing to and from the room and through the halls.
On the same floor are also two rooms, formed by the towers. The one in the
main tower is the superintendent's office, that formed by the other is used as a
recitation-room.

On the second floor are also four school-rooms, similar in size and general
arrangement to those on the first. Scholars of the grammar and second interme-
diate departments occupy these rooms, which have sittings for two hundred and
fifty-six students. On each of these floors the seating is double, and the sexes,
except in the grammar school, are taught separately. There are on this floor
three other rooms, two formed by the towers, and one, the library, directly above
the main hall on the first floor.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

59

The third floor is occupied by the high school department. The study-room
is sixty-five by forty-two feet, and will accommodate in single seats one hundred
and twenty-six students. Adjoining this room are three recitation-rooms, and
the apparatus-room, which also is used for class purposes. In the rear of the
high school room is still another study-room, with double seating, with capacity
for fifty-six scholars. This floor is supplied with two large wardrobes for the
young ladies and gentlemen respectively. The number of sittings in the building
is seven hundred and forty-six.

The basement is occupied by the janitor and his family, has ample room for
the storage of fuel, and contains also a dining- and play-room, finished and fur-
nished to accommodate those pupils whom distance from home compels to remain
at noon. The building is warmed by hot air.

The interior finish of the building is equal in all respects to its exterior. The
windows are all supplied with inside blinds. The halls, on each floor, are wain-
scoted at the sides, as also are the school-rooms. The stairways are closed at the
sides instead of being finished with a low rail, rendering them perfectly safe from
accidents. Each floor is reached by two easy half-flights, with broad landings,
instead of by one continuous flight. The slating in the school-rooms extends en-
tirely around them. The wood-work of the whole building is grained in imitation
of ash. The seats are so arranged that in all cases the light falls upon the pupil's
book from behind or at the side. The furniture is of ash. The whole building,
in all appointments, is pleasant and attractive, no insignificant aid in securing
good order and in inducing earnest study.

In addition to the work of the carpenter in the internal fittings, the hands of
the scholars and teachers have not been idle, as is testified by the profusion
of house plants that adorn the school-rooms, and fill the air therein with their
fragrance and charm the eye with their beauty.

BOARD OF EDUCATION, 1877.

J. H. Montgomery, 1874-77 ; George Ingersoll, 1874-77 (moderator) ; Robert
Huston, 1875-78 ; Dr. W. B. Church, 1875-78 ; Charles P. Dibble, 1876-79
(assessor) ; A. 0. Hyde, 1876-79 (director).

The statistics of 1876, ending with the first day of September of that year,
give the following exhibit: Total resources, $21,203.30 ; expenditures, paid two
male teachers for thirteen months' services, $1900 ; seventeen females one hundred
and eighty months, $67.25; on buildings and repairs, $241.45; on bonded in-
debtedness, $7300; other expenses, $3696.82; total, $19,563.27. There were
1276 children in the district (which includes a portion of Marengo township) of
the requisite school age, 1200 of whom attended the school, which was in session
ten months. The school library contains four hundred and fifty-six volumes, and
the bonded indebtedness outstanding amounts to $40,000.

THE CHURCH.

Before four months had passed away after the first settlement in the county, in
April, 1831, the news of salvation was proclaimed to the little colony of less than
a dozen souls, by Rev. John D. Pierce, missionary of the Congregational church,
who was on a tour of observation through the country. He arrived in Detroit
early in June, where he stopped over one Sunday, and came on to Ann Arbor,
where he preached two or more Sundays, and arrived at Marshall the first week
in July, preaching the first Sunday in the month. He continued in Marshall
through July, when he returned for his family, whom he brought back to Marshall
in October following, arriving there on the eighth day of the month, and preaching
again the next day. In the mean time, in the early part of August, Rev. Randall
Hobart, a local Methodist preacher, came to Marshall and located with his family,
and began to hold services on Sundays at the house of Sidney Ketchum, with
whom he came to the settlement ; the first one being August 14, which was
the first Methodist Episcopal sermon. On the 9th of October following, Rev.
E. H. Pilcher, of the Methodist Episcopal church, came to Marshall, and preached
in the morning at Mr. Ketchum's, Mr. Pierce officiating in the afternoon in
his double log house. On the 6th of November, at Mr. Pilcher's next visit, he
organized a class of

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH,

with the following members: Randall Hobart, leader, Ruth Hobart his wife,
Sidney Ketchum and Catharine his wife, and Seth and Eliza Ketchum, six in all.
The first communion season ever held in the county of Calhoun was at a two
days' meeting held by Rev. E. H. Pilcher, assisted by Rev. William Fowler from
New York, June 7, 1832. The society increased to fifteen members during the
year. The first church edifice of this society was built by Sidney Ketchum, in
1837, completed in 1838, and donated to the society by him. It was a stone
building, and in after-years was rebuilt, and within a month afterwards was de-
stroyed by fire. The present commodious edifice on Green street was erected in

1871, at a cost of about twelve thousand dollars. It will seat comfortably five
hundred persons, and is furnished with a small but fine-toned pipe organ, and a
good bell. There are one hundred and seventy members connected with the
society, and its Sunday-school, under the superintendence of N. H. Comstock,
numbers about one hundred scholars.

We have given a notice of Rev. Mr. Pilcher in the general history of the
church in the county. Mr. Hobart was not only a good minister, but a most ex-
cellent and useful citizen of Marshall, and the kindest of neighbors. He was the
first register of deeds in the county, and held the position five years. One son of
his, William Hobart, is now a resident and comptroller of the State of Nevada.
Mr. Hobart is deceased. The ministers who have preached to this society
statedly, as far as we have been able to ascertain their names, are as follows : from,
the organization of the class to 1837 the Marshall society was included in the
Tecumseh and Calhoun mission. In 1837 it was called the Marshall charge; and
in 1838 a district was formed with Marshall for its headquarters, which continued
until 1865, when the headquarters were transferred to Albion. In 1831-32,
Rev. E. H. Pilcher, assisted by Ezekiel S. Gavett, rode the circuit, the same
being the Tecumseh mission. In 1832-33 the mission was called the Calhoun
mission, and Andrew Dixon was in charge; in 1833, Thomas Wiley; 1834, Jas.
F. Davidson and Richard Lawrence; 1835, Mr. Pilcher again, and F. A. Sea-
born. This year the Michigan conference was established, the Michigan churches
previously having been in the Ohio conference. In 1836-37, Elijah Crane was
the preacher. In 1838, Rev. Mr. Pilcher was made the presiding elder of the
new Marshall district, which position he held until the conference of 1841-
Alvan Billings and Allen Staples were the preachers for 1838, Benjamin Sabin
1839, and James S. Harrison in 1840. From 1840 to 1851 we have been un-
able to ascertain who the preachers of this society were. Wm. Mayhon was here
in 1851-52; H. Morgan, 1852-53; Edward McClure, presiding elder; 1853-
54, Myron B. Cambrom ; 1854-55, S. Steele ; G. C. Bradley, presiding elder ;
1855-56, E. Holdstock, preacher; J. Jennings, presiding elder, who continued
till the conference of 1859; 1856-57, Norman Abbott, preacher; 1857-59,
Myron Dougherty; 1859-60, T. H. Jacokes ; E. Holdstock, presiding elder
from 1859 to conference of 1863; 1860-62, J. Boynton, preacher; 1862-64,
D. D. Gillett, preacher; M. A. Dougherty, presiding elder from 1863 to confer-
ence of 1866; 1864-66, A. M. Joy, preacher. Since 1866 we have not been
able to ascertain the names of all of the preachers, nor give the date of the ser-
vice, but among them have been the following : Revs. Fox, Hickey, J. F. Buel,
1873; J. W. Robinson, 1874; David Engle, 1875-76 ; Horace Hall the
present pastor, to whom we are indebted for much of the foregoing information
relative to the Methodist Episcopal church. Rev. Noah Fassett was over the
church in 1869-70.

THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

On Rev. Mr. Pierce's return to Marshall with his family in October, 1831, he
continued to preach every alternate Sabbath in his own house through the winter,
and on the 11th day of May, 1832, a meeting was held at the same place to con-
sider the propriety of organizing a Congregational society, which meeting unani-
mously voted to organize such a society, and on the Sunday following one was
accordingly organized with the following members : John D. Pierce and Mary
his wife, Stephen Kimball and Mary his wife, and children, Emily and Julius
Eunice Ketchum, James P. Greeves and Ellen his wife, and Minerva his
sister, and Dr. Luther W. Hart and wife. Stephen Kimball was appointed
deacon, and Mr. Pierce was the moderator of the session. On December 8, 1835,
the society was legally organized by electing the following board of trustees :
Stephen Kimball, Stephen W. Leggett, Freeman Hotchkiss, Melancthon Bagg,
F. A. Kingsbury, and L. W. Hart. Messrs. Hoag and Brown, of Tecumseh,
gave the society lot 3, block 25, for a church site. In the summer of 1837 a
session house was built forty by twenty-six feet on the ground, at a cost of twelve
hundred dollars, Jno. Hutchinson, contractor. An addition was made to it, about
doubling its capacity, afterwards, its original settings being about one hundred
and forty. The building is at present used for Magee's cooper-shop.

On June 21, 1841, a portion of the members of the church withdrew to form
a Presbyterian society, thirty-one in number, and later some others withdrew ;
and in 1845 the Congregational church disbanded, and the society became ex-
tinct. Mr. Pierce was the pastor of the church from its organization to August,
1836, and was succeeded by Rev. Calvin Clark, who ministered to this flock from
August, 1836, to the close of 1838, and was succeeded by Rev. M. Mason, who
gave way to Rev. Jno. Wilder, who was the last pastor over the church. Mr.
Pierce is now living at an advanced age at Ypsilanti, and his record in detail is
given in the county history. Rev. Calvin Clark has been a resident of Marshall
for many years past, and just as we were commencing the writing of the history
of this church (June 4, 1877) the news was sent to us of his sudden death but

60

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

an hour before, the same being occasioned by heart-disease. Mr. Clark was a
pioneer in Calhoun and Kalamazoo, a most kindly-dispositioned man, beloved by
all with whom he came in contact. He was " instant in season and out of season"
in the discharge of his duties in the cause of his Master, and his record is that of
a good man.

In 1837, Mr. Clark was appointed the State missionary for Michigan of the
Presbyterian Home Missionary Society of the United States, and held the posi-
tion from that time forward until his death. He was also the financial agent for
a term of years of the Mount Holyoke Ladies' Seminary of Kalamazoo. He
traveled the State over in all directions and into every corner where a handful of
people could be gathered together, and encouraged them to build up an altar around
which they could meet for public worship. Wherever there is a Presbyterian
church in the State of Michigan there Father Clark's name is a household word,
and most kindly and pleasing are the memories he has left behind him. Two of
the first members of this church, Mrs. Pierce and Julius Kimball, died in July and
August, 1832, of the cholera.

TRINITY (EPISCOPAL) CHURCH.

On the 12th of May, 1864, Rev. Montgomery Schuyler, now of St. Louis,
delivered a sermon on the consecration of Trinity church, which was subsequently,
on request of the wardens and vestry of the church, published. To this sermon
was added an interesting account of the ceremony of laying the corner-stone of
the building on the 27th of April, 1861, by Bishop McCoskey ; Mr. Schuyler
reading a brief history of the church, from which we clip the following :

" The first service of the Episcopal church was celebrated in the school-house,
and the first sermon from one of her ministers was preached by the Rev. Charles
B. Stout, now of Illinois, in the summer of 1836. At that time the population
of the village numbered about three hundred.

" In the succeeding fall and winter the few Episcopalians who were then resi-
dent began to entertain hopes that the time was not far distant when a parish
could be organized, and the village and vicinity were thoroughly canvassed to
ascertain what amount could be raised toward the building of a church. In the
spring of 1837 the parish was organized, and Messrs. J. W. Gordon and Mont-
gomery Schuyler were chosen wardens ; and Dr. J. H. Montgomery, Bradley K.
Crissey, Sidney S. Allcott, C. T. Gorham, and Andrew Mann elected vestrymen.
In the same spring the bishop of the diocese visited us, and preached in the old
school-house, which was the second service of the church held in this village.

" The building of the church was immediately entered upon, and prosecuted
with such earnestness and diligence that early in the autumn it was completed.
That was a glad day for the little band of churchmen when they were ready to
present to the bishop a neat and tasteful little church for consecration. It had
been built at a cost of over two thousand dollars, chiefly by the wardens and
vestrymen, none of whom were rich, and hence at much sacrifice of time and
money to the very few engaged in it. And yet it was gladly met and cheerfully
endured by them, grateful that it had pleased God to give them the ability and
willingness thus to contribute.

" The bishop, according to his appointment, spent the first three days of Sep-
tember with us, and the church was opened three times each day, when the ser-
vices were regularly performed by the bishop or one of the clergy present.

" The Rev. Mr. Cushman remained and preached in the new church about two
months immediately succeeding, and for the month of December the Rev. John
Noble ofiiciated. Lay services were then regularly kept up until the month of
February, 1838, when the Rev. Samuel Buel was called as the first rector, and
entered immediately upon his duties. He remained one year and eight months, and
resigned October 14, 1839, leaving a list of communicants numbering twenty-eight.
" For the space of eighteen months the parish was without a rector ; the Rev.
W. N. Lyster officiating monthly, at much self-sacrifice, and, in the interim, lay
services were maintained.

" In the spring of 1841, the Rev. M. Schuyler was called and entered upon
his duties. His rectorship continued for the space of three years — resigning his
ministerial charge April 8, 1844. During his rectorship the church building was
enlarged at an expense of over one thousand dollars, about one-half of which was
contributed by the churchmen at the east. The capacity of the church was
increased thereby at least one-third, and a tower and bell added. In July follow-
ing Rev. E. A. Greenleaf succeeded to the rectorship. He continued nearly two
years, and resigned May, 1846.

" The Rev. Joseph S. Large succeeded to the rectorship, and entered upon his
duties in the month of December, 1846. His rectorship continued but for one
year, resigning November 1, 1847. The church was repaired, the lot fenced,
trees planted, and other alterations and improvements made.

" Nearly a year intervened between the resignation of the Rev. Mr. Large and
the calling of the Rev. Hiram Adams, who entered upon the rectorship in Octo-

ber, 1848. During this time there were occasional services by clergymen passing
through the town, and at other times lay services were regularly maintained.
The Rev. Mr. Adams served as rector for one year and six months, and resigned
April, 1850.

" The Rev. Alvah Guion very soon succeeded, entering upon the charge of the

parish in 1850, and resigning in April, 1852, being a period of nearly two years.

" In the same month of Mr. Guion's resignation, the Rev. Henry N. Strong

entered upon the charge of the parish. His rectorship coutinued five years and

four months. He resigned August 31, 1857.

" The Rev. Charles Jones succeeded Mr. Strong, having been called November
30, 1857, and resigning November 12, 1859, being a period of two years and
two weeks.

" On April 3, 1858, the old church and lot were sold to the Lutheran congre-
gation for the sum of two thousand dollars, and, on the first of June of the same
year, the lot on which the church is now being built, measuring eight and one-
third rods front by twelve rods deep, was purchased for the sum of one thousand
one hundred and twenty-four dollars and forty cents.

" The Rev. Seth S. Chapin was called April 29, 1860. On the second day of
July, of the same year, it was unanimously voted that a new church should be
built, and the plans, as furnished by Mr. Gordon W. Lloyd, were adopted by
the vestry. In the month of April, A.D. 1861, the work of the church was
begun."

Mr. Chapin resigned in 1866, and was succeeded by Rev. John K. Dunn, 1867-
69, W. H. Moffett, 1869-70, Rev. George P. Schetky, D.D., 1870-74. The
present pastor, Rev. J. H. Whittemore, came to the charge November, 1874,
when he found one hundred and twenty-seven communicants in the church, and his
last report to the diocesan convention shows one hundred and eighty-three. The
church society has never been in debt to any material amount or length of time
during its history. The Ladies' Church Aid and Auxiliary missionary society,
and the young ladies' branch of the same society, are, and have been, efficient aids
in the charitable and missionary works of the church. There is a rectory fund
of twelve hundred dollars on hand towards building a rectory whenever the same
becomes a necessity, and the sum accumulated is sufficient to pay the expense
thereof. The present officers of the church are as follows : Senior Warden, J. H-
Montgomery, M.D. ; Junior Warden, Charles P. Dibble; Vestry, O. C. Comstock,
M.D., J. M. Parsons (secretary), Charles A. Dibble (treasurer), Hon. George
Woodruff, John Adams, James A. Way, Robert Huston, William R. Schuyler,
Edward C. Way, organist.

The Sunday-school has enrolled two hundred and twenty scholars, under the
superintend ency of Charles A. Dibble; Charles Frink, secretary; E. C. Way, treas-
urer and organist ; Henry Dibble, librarian.
The following is a description of the church :

The church is in plan a parallelogram, seventy-two by forty-two feet inside, and
is calculated to accommodate with ease four hundred people. At the north end
is a recessed chancel, twenty-one by fifteen feet six inches, opening into the church
through a wide moulded arch ; a vestry, ten by nine feet six inches, and recess
for organ and choir, also ten by nine feet six inches, with arches opening into both
the church and chancel. At the southwest angle, on Mansion street, is placed a
tower in which is the main entrance door, the tower forming a vestibule ; at the
opposite corner is a smaller entrance door, also with vestibule. The walls of the
church are built throughout of a very light reddish-brown sandstone of excellent
quality, quarried in the immediate vicinity, which is also used for the cut-stone
dressing of doors, windows, etc. The gables are coped with stone and finished
with ornamental stone crosses. The large window in the front gable is composed
of four lancet lights, with pierced circles over the whole, inclosed under a trefoil
headed label moulding. The chancel window is a triplet of three lancet lights.
The side windows are each of two lights, corresponding in style to the front win-
dow and divided by buttresses of two stages. The tower is fifty feet in height of
stone, with bold flanking of buttresses ; the belfry story has two lancet windows
on each face, with deeply recessed jambs, and moulded labels and string running
round. A moulded cornice, partly of stone and partly of wood, terminates the
tower, which is surmounted by a broad spire, sixty feet in height to the top of the
metal cross, framed of wood and covered with shingles, divided by two sets of
spirelights, with tracery heads and canopies — the whole terminated by a metal
cross and vane of suitable character. The roof is in one span, having trussed
principals with collar beams and trefoil arched ribs, springing from the heads of
shafts, corbelled out from the walls with moulded caps and bases. The intervening
spaces have moulded and stop-chamfered purlins and rafters ceiled between the
same. The whole will be stained and varnished. The walls of the church will
be finished in rough stucco. The seating is arranged in two main blocks, with a
wide centre aisle, and side aisles next the walls. The seats themselves will be open,
with ornamental solid elbows. The desk, pulpit, and communion rail are all of

A.T, Vary.

Mrs.A.T Vary.

5f- ; ". •" ^ ; f^

Residence of A.T.VARY, Marshall, Michigan.

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

61

appropriate and handsome design, and, with the seats, are made of black walnut.
The church is heated by means of a furnace in the basement.

The builder was Mr. Nathan Benedict, who contracted for the whole of the
work. The building was designed and specifications furnished by Gordon W.
Lloyd, architect, of Detroit.

THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

was organized March 21, 1840, with the following members: Rev. T. Z. R.
Jones, pastor, and Eliza his wife, David N. Salter (deacon) and Sophia his wife,
Dalvin Ludden (deacon) and Louisa his wife, Squire J. Rundell and Fanny M.
his wife, Lurancy Ludden, Sabrina Walker, Mary Jane Shaw, Harriet Downs,
Elvira Willard, Julius F. Ludden, Ebenezer N. Narramore and Sarah Narramore
his wife, Rachel Bankson, Charles Rhodes and Harriet his wife, Minerva Calkins,
Smith Lewis, Joseph P. Hendryx and Eveline his wife, Content Ludden, Theo-
dosia Winters, and Zilpha Lewis. The first church edifice was erected in 1851,
on the corner of Grand and State streets, and was constructed of brick, at a cost
(including the lot) of eight thousand dollars. Previous to this time the society
worshiped in Mechanics' hall, the court-house, and in private houses, as oppor-
tunity offered. In 1876 the edifice was remodeled at a cost of seven thousand
dollars, and is now not only a comfortable and pleasant place for public worship,
but is one of the neatest gems of internal church architecture in the county. It
easily accommodates an audience of five hundred persons. The Sunday-school
was organized June 16, 1844, the first superintendent being George Ingersoll.
The present membership is two hundred and ten, and there are two hundred and
fifty volumes in the library. The present officers of the school are E. Scougal,
superintendent, Julia Morton, secretary and librarian, Carrie L. Ingersoll, treasurer.
The church experienced its greatest prosperity during the pastorates of Revs. L.
H. Moore, L. D. Palmer, C. B. Post, and Jay Snashall. From the time of its
organization until the pastorate of Mr. Moore and the erection of the church
edifice, the feeble church passed through many times of great discouragement, with
no regular place for public worship. Few in numbers, and financially weak, it was
a struggle to maintain the organization. It now numbers two hundred and twenty-
eight members, and is in a flourishing, prosperous, and harmonious condition.

The pastors of the church from its organization have been as follows : Revs.
T. Z. R. Jones, William A. Bronson, J. N. Keyes, William Hewitt, William
Dickens, 0. C. Comstock, L. H. Moore, L. D. Palmer, E. Curtiss, C. B. Post,
F. B. Crissey, S. B. Gilbert, J. M. Ferris, and J. Snashall, present pastor.
Present officers of the church : George S. Woolsey, E. A. Simmons, Augustus
Lusk, Daniel Woolsey, deacons ; George Ingersoll, clerk ; E. A. Simmons, George
S. Woolsey, M. Crossman, George Ingersoll, John Runyan, Isaac S. Peters, trus-
tees.

The first Michigan soldier killed in the war of the rebellion, Calvin Colegrove,
was a member of this church, and had with him in his knapsack, when he was
shot in the field of Bull Run, a certificate of his membership in the church. He
was color-bearer of the First Michigan Infantry.

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

of Marshall was organized June 26, 1841, in Marshall academy, by Rev. Elias
Child as moderator and James P. Greeves as clerk, with thirty-eight members
from the Congregational church of Marshall, among whom were the following :
Dr. L. J. Aylesworth and wife, Dr. Greeves and family, Mrs. Philo Dibble, J.
M. Parsons, R. E. Hall, J. T. Gilbert, Deacon Lord, Ira Nash and wife, two
Wallingfords, Ketchum, and others. Joseph Lord, Ira Nash, and Laban J.
Aylesworth were chosen ruling elders, and ordained, and the communion cele-
brated next day, June 27. Elder Aylesworth, who was appointed clerk, died in
November, 1841, and Daniel Pratt and Jas. P. Greeves were elected elders, Greeves
being clerk. The society was admitted to the Marshall presbytery in 1841, and
a Sunday-school was in operation in 1842. Elder Jabez S. Fitch died August,
1843. In 1845 the society bought the brick church built by Elder Fitch of his
heirs, and occupied it first May 25. Previous to that time the society worshiped
in the court-house. Wm. Rankin, of Newark, gave the church an elegant com-
munion set. On the 7th of March, 1845, thirty-one other members of the Con-
gregational church, which had just disbanded, united with this Presbyterian
society. In 1873-74 the present capacious and elegant temple was erected by the
society at a cost of fifty thousand dollars, completely furnished, including a power- 7
ful-toned organ and bell. A parsonage was also added, costing three thousand
dollars. The church contains seven hundred and fifty sittings, and has a fine
lecture-room, which is entered directly from the street, and has dining-rooms,
parlors, and kitchen attached, commodious and conveniently arranged.

The church now numbers two hundred and seventy-five members. The Sun-
day-school, under the superintendence of Frank L. Henderson, has one hundred
and eighty scholars enrolled.

On the 7th of September, 1876, Miss Abbie P. Ketchum, a member of the
church, took her dismissal therefrom to " attach herself to the church of Christ
wherever her lot might be cast," and, bidding farewell to her friends, commenced
her journey to Ningpo, China, as a missionary.

The pastors who have ministered to this society from its organization to the
present are as follows: Rev. John P. Cleveland, from November 10, 1841, to
November, 1843 ; Samuel H. Hall, from November, 1843, to October, 1853 ;■ J.
H. Trowbridge, 1854-56 ; Rev. Vincent (supply), 1856-58 ; W. A. McCorkle,
1859-63; L. Willard, October 14, 1863-68 ; Rev. Mr. Ford (supply), October,
1868-70 ; Rev. Francis M. Wood, April 14, 1871, to May 7, 1876 ; and Rev. ,
Wm. A. Rice came January 26, 1877, as pastor, and is still installed over the
people. The present church government is as follows: Elders, Henry C. Haskell
(clerk of session), W. W. Smith, W. C. Pringle, W. R. McCall, Chester G/
Ingersoll, David B. Bardwell, Claudius B. Webster, Darius Bickford, Chas. S.-
Hamilton ; Deacons, Samuel A. Chapin, Augustus Lock wood, Frank W. Davis.

During the construction of the first church of this society, built by Mr. Fitch,
the west wall of the building fell and injured Mr. Fitch so severely he died from
the effects. Deacon Lord was also injured, but not seriously.

THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

of Marshall was organized June 20, 1869, with twenty-nine members, seventeen
by letter and twelve by profession, at the house of Rev. H. A. Reed, among them
being Rev. H. A. Reed and wife, Dr. Benj. A. Gallup and wife, Hettie Peters,
M. J. Alexander, and Mary P., Anna M., Walter, and Emma C. Alexander,
David H. Miller and wife, and others. The first pastor was Rev. O. S. St. John,
who was succeeded by Rev. Jay Clizbee, and he by Walter M. Barrows, who was
succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. Mr. Waterman. The present chapel was
built in 1869, and dedicated in November of the same year. It is situated on
Mansion street, corner of Madison, and cost, with the site, about three thousand
dollars, and affords about three hundred sittings. The Sunday-school numbers
about one hundred scholars, and is under the superintendence of H. E. Winsor,
Esq. The church numbers some seventy members ; Julius A. Davis and Mr.
Martin are deacons, H. E. Winsor, clerk, and M. L. Alexander, treasurer.

THE CHURCH OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION (ROMAN CATHOLIC).

Among the early settlers in 1836 were Thomas Cassidy, Thomas Fay, M.
McKenna and family, C. and J. McAffrey and families, John Woods and family,
Jeremiah Cronin, Sr., and in 1837 came Laughlin McHugh and family, B.
Branagan, and P. Quigley and family. These few Catholics were overjoyed on
the first visit of a Catholic priest, probably Rev. Father Morrissey, who held
service in the house of Michael McKenna, in 1836. After this, until 1841,
they were visited at long intervals by traveling missionaries and the Rev. Thomas
Morrissey. In 1842, quite an addition was made to their number by families
engaged in building the Michigan Central railroad, among the number being
Edward and Andrew McMahon, Patrick Butler, and James Conley. From this
time services were held regularly, four times a year, by Rev. Thomas Cullen, pas-
tor of Ann Arbor, who many times made the journey on horseback, and held
service sometimes in private houses, again in the old court-house, and, in fact, any
and everywhere where accommodation could be found, until the erection of the
present frame church, corner of Eagle and Green streets, which was begun in
1851, and completed and dedicated in 1853. Rev. Father Cullen worked hard
and perseveringly, getting subscriptions, making collections, etc., and nearly all
the citizens cheerfully responded to his calls. The first resident pastor was Rev.
James A. Hennessy, who built the pastoral residence. Services were now held
every fourth Sunday, the pastor meantime officiating at Dexter and Jackson, and
visiting the sick all over the county. In 1855, he resigned to take charge of a
parish in Detroit. His successor, Rev. P. C. Koopmans, also regularly officiated
at Jackson until 1857 or 1858. While officiating at the latter place he built a
brick church there. He established a parochial school in Marshall, in 1856. In
1859, he enlarged the church, and in 1862 purchased more ground and enlarged
the school building ; bought and enlarged the house for the Sisters, and introduced
the Sisters as teachers. In 1866 he purchased sixteen acres east of the city, for
a Catholic cemetery, and in 1867 resigned his pastorate, to enter the order of
Jesuits. He was succeeded by Rev. C. M. Frain, who was also succeeded in Octo-
ber, 1868, by Rev. D. Callaert. During the latter's pastorate, the church was
renovated, the cemetery grounds improved, another building purchased for school
purposes, and in 1876 the Sisters of Providence established a high school for
young ladies, and took charge of the parochial schools, which number at the
present, June, 1877, one hundred and eighty-two scholars.

In 1875, Father Callaert built a neat brick church in Albion, the number of
members there being about three hundred. During all these years, until 1870,
the Marshall pastor has at stated times visited Battle Creek and Charlotte, and at

62

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

present visits Albion and Homer every few weeks. The present pastor is Rev.
W. Fierle, who entered on his duties January, 1877. The number of members
at present is about one thousand, from four to five hundred having left Marshall
since the removal of the shops of the Michigan Central railroad.

It must be remembered that, in numbering her members, the mother-church
reckons the whole family, considering children in the fold as well as the parents.

THE GERMAN LUTHERAN ZION CHURCH

was organized in the year 1853. During that year the Rev. F. Schmid, of Ann
Arbor, visited the township in order to gather the German Lutheran Protestants
together into a congregation, and in the city succeeded in organizing a church
with the following members : Christopher Egler, Christopher Baeker, Peter Katz,
Jacob Shellenbarger. In the year 1854 a large increase was added to the church
by an influx of German settlers. In 1856 the society was legally organized, the
first ofiicers being Philip Kuechle, John Kappis, Lorenz Walz, Peter Katz, Sr.,
and Matthias Strubel. The church worshiped in the court-house till 1857, at
which time the society bought from the Episcopal church their church building
situated on the corner of Eagle and Green streets, for two thousand dollars, and
subsequently expended one thousand dollars for general refitting. It is a frame
building and affords three hundred sittings, being thirty by sixty feet. Some years
after the purchase and refitting of the church, Mr. S. S. Burpee presented the
society with his old store building for a school-house, and the building was removed
to the church-yard, wherein for six months in each year a school is taught for the
purpose of giving the children of the church-members (or any others) instruction
in the German language, as well as to give them a more sufficient instruction in
the doctrines and faith of the church. In 1867 the church built a parsonage
in the rear of the church-yard, at a cost of eighteen hundred dollars. The
present membership of the church is one hundred. The names of the pastors of
the church from its organization are as follows : F. Spring, T. F. Hennicke, C.
Schlenker, G. Brecht, and P. Stamm, present incumbent, A Sunday-school was
organized in 1860, the first superintendent being John Kraus. The present
number of scholars is one hundred and fifty, and there are seventy books in the
library. The present superintendent is John Kappis. The present pastor con-
ducts the day school.

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

of Marshall was organized with thirteen members, on the 2d day of March, 1850,
in Mechanics' hall, now the upper .story of the present Fowler House ; but as the
Baptist society were then holding their Sabbath meetings in the hall, it was not
available to the Christian society except on week-days. Consequently, for a few
Sundays services were held in the dining-hall of the old depot building, which was
then in charge of Z. M. Lester. At the formation of this church Elder James
S. "White was elected pastor, Z. M. Lester deacon, and Samuel Ladd clerk. The
revival which preceded and led to the formation of this church began in a log
school-house in the northern part of the township, then known as the Miner
school-house. The original members of this church were Z. M. Lester and
Hannah K. his wife, Samuel Ladd and Clarissa his wife, Alvin G. Miner, Jacob
Root, Nelson White, Harriet Root, Eleanor Patterson, Betsey Miner, and Char-
lotte Laberteaux. But four of these survive at the present time. Not long after
the organization of the church the third story of Butler's brick block was rented,
where the infant church worshiped for one and a half years. In the summer of
1851 the present church edifice, on the southwest corner of the court-house
square, was erected, being opened for worship in November of that year and dedi-
cated ; Mr. and Mrs. Lester contributing largely to its erection. Elder White
" served the church five years, and was succeeded by Elder A. M. Sowle, who
served but a short time, as did also Rev. Francis H. Adams, who followed him.
In the fall D. E. Millard accepted the pastorate, and remained over the church
until the last Sunday in March, 1865, when he removed to Washington, D. C.
Elder J. G. Noble was over the church one year, and between that time (March,
1866) and 'October of the same year the church had no pastor, the desk being
supplied by J. E. Church. On January 1, 1867, Rev. D. W. Moore entered upon
the pastorate of the church, which he continued in four years, until January 1,
1871. From that* time till April, Mr. Church supplied the desk, at which latter
date Rev. B. F. Summerbell was inducted into the vacant pastorate, but was soon
prostrated by disease and forced to resign the charge ; and on April 1, 1872, Mr.
Millard again assumed the pastorate, wherein he remained until the summer of
1874, when he was succeeded by the present pastor, J. Warren Weeks. In 1859
the church was refitted and repaired, and again, in 1873, general repairs were
made, and the auditorium now presents a pleasant and attractive appearance. It
will seat three hundred persons. From the organization of the church to the close
of Mr. Millard's pastorate it had received four hundred and twenty-one members :
ninety-four under Elder W T hite's pastorate, eleven under Adams and Sowle, one

hundred and eighty under Millard's first pastorate and twenty-one under his
second, thirty-eight under Noble's, seventy-three under Moore's, and four under
Mr. Summerbell's. Its present membership numbers one hundred. The Sunday-
school, under the superintendence of James Chisholm, numbers from fifty to sixty
scholars.

THE EVANGELICAL (GERMAN) CHURCH

of Marshall was first organized as a class in 1860, by Rev. Michael Kruger. The
first meetings of the class were held in Henry Rorman's store, now burned down,
and afterwards over Schuyler's drug-store, for about two years. In 1863 the
class was organized as a church, with fifty-two members. The building now used
as a church was formerly a frame school-house, twenty by thirty-six feet, and cost
about seven hundred and sixty dollars, affording about one hundred and fifty sit-
tings. The ministers of the church have been G. M. Gruner, C. Ude, M. Speck,
Ruha Riegle, Thomas and William Riemke, M. Houke, Michael Miller, William
Loose, Peter Berk, and the present pastor, L. Kemerling. The church has twenty-
eight members. A Sunday-school is connected with the church, numbering
twenty scholars. The first superintendent was Henry Lorman, present one John
Harkman ; secretary and librarian, John Rohr ; treasurer, John Harkman. The
library contains one hundred and forty books.

THE AFRICAN METHODIST CHURCH

of Marshall was organized in the spring of 1847, by Rev. Edward Hart. The
officers were Calvin Hackett, Charles Parker, and Moses Lawson, trustees ; stew-
ards, William Booth and Planter Moss. There were fourteen members at the
organization of the society. The church building was erected in 1848, and was
a frame house and cost five hundred dollars, and is still in use by the society. It
will seat about one hundred persons. A Sunday-school was organized about the
same time as the church. It has twenty-four scholars at the present time, and
the superintendent is Abner Baker. The leading member of the congregation is
Mr. Coleman, an intelligent colored man and a very worthy citizen. The church
has had among its pastors the following-named gentlemen : Revs. Hart, Samuel
Walls, Edward Epps, Hezekiah Harper, Hercules Andrews, John Ridgeway,
Daniel Cooper, Young, Beverly Carey, Turner Roberts, James Curtis, H. B.
Gordon, Daniel Burden, Jeffries, and J. M. Smith.

ASSOCIATIONS.

THE MARSHALL VILLAGE COMPANY

was organized in 1836, to improve the upper village property, so called, and em-
braced lands on both sides. The original company were Sidney Ketchum, Oshea
Wilder, James C. Smith, George S. Wright, John H. Montgomery, and Mont-
gomery Schuyler. The company bought of Sidney Ketchum his interest in the
water-power, and lands embracing the present cemetery and railroad grounds, the
same being conveyed to George S. Wright as trustee for the company, and who
was the business manager of the same. The company built a bridge over Rice
creek to improve the property on the present site of Perrinville, worked the streets,
and built the Marshall Young Ladies' Seminary in 1837, which was in operation
for some years, and built the Marshall House. The company was an important
factor in the early prosperity of Marshall.

MINING COMPANIES

sprang up all over the State on the announcement of the mineral deposits of the
upper peninsula, and Marshall was represented in 1846 by three companies
on the ground, all of whom expended more or less money in mining for copper.
The Portage Company of Marshall were officered by Asa B. Cook, president,
and J. M. Parsons, secretary ; the Marshall and Boston Lake Superior Company
by Henry W. Taylor, president, George S. Wright, secretary ; and the Mineral
Creek Company by Isaac E. Crary, president, and George C. Gibbs, secretary.
The companies did more or less " prospecting" in 1846, but did not continue.

LITERARY.

THE MECHANICS' ASSOCIATION

was organized by the mechanics of Marshall, some forty or more, January 13,
1838, at which time a constitution and by-laws were adopted, the preamble to
which declared that " knowledge confers true dignity on human nature by exalt-
ing the mind to a true sense of its powers, and leading it to a due perception of
its importance in the scale of beings." With this broad and ringing declaration
they founded their association "for the diffusion of useful knowledge," and pro-
ceeded to elect a list of officers for the same. Ira Nash was chosen president;

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

63

Isaac Loomis, first vice-president; Edmund R. Way, second vice-president;
Jeremiah 0. Balch, recording secretary ; Charles Dickey, corresponding secretary ;
R. E. Hall, treasurer, and William R. McCall, librarian. Directors, S. S. Burpee,
B. Chamberlain, Benjamin Drake, Edwin G. Squires, James Cuykendall. The first
discussion was directed to be held at the weekly meeting January 27, which was
upon the question " Would canals be more beneficial than railroads ?" and McCall,
Loomis, and Jewett appointed to assert the affirmative, and Cuykendall, Balch,
and Squires to uphold the negative. At the discussion the judges decided the
weight of the argument to be with the negative, but the association reversed that
decision, and gave the honors to the affirmative. The second subject discussed
was not so practical as the first, the question being whether Washington was a
greater general than Bonaparte, or not? The judges and association decided in
favor of the Virginian. The next question was a serious one, " Ought the usury
laws to be abolished?" The association decided the question in the negative.
These weekly discussions were kept up for several years, and were an interesting
feature in Marshall society. Lectures were delivered under its auspices, and much
benefit ensued to the community from its work. In the fall of 1843 the associa-
tion made arrangements with Messrs. Dusenbury, Brewer & Co., to build a
Mechanics' - hall over the store of the latter firm, on the corner of Eagle and
State streets (now the Fowler House), which was completed and occupied in the
fall of 1845, and continued in the ownership of the association until 1850, when
it passed into the possession of Dusenbury & Butler, and the association soon after
ceased to exist. July 4, 1845, the association held a fair, and, in conjunction
with the citizens generally, celebrated the day in an elaborate manner.

THE MECHANICS' PROTECTION,

a secret order, grew out of the Mechanics' Association, being established some-
where about 1856. It was similar in its objects and ritual to the order of Odd-
Fellows, and flourished for a time in connection with the order elsewhere in the
Union. William R. McCall was one of its prominent members, and was a dele-
gate in 1847 to the National Protection, which assembled at Buffalo in July of
that year.

THE YOUNG MEN'S ASSOCIATION

was organized in 1838, the Rev. J. P. Cleveland being the first president, and
the first annual meeting being held December 2, 1739. John Starkweather was
secretary. A course of lectures was inaugurated, Rev. Mr. Wilder being one of
the speakers, and a series of chemical lectures being delivered by Dr. Bement.
The association lapsed after a few years.

THE MARSHALL LYCEUM

was organized November 19, 1838, Rev. Samuel Buel being the first president
and delivering the first lecture. A course followed. It closed its career the latter
part of 1844.

THE AMPHICTYON SOCIETY

was an attachment to the Marshall College, which was to have been, but got no
farther than a preparatory school.

THE YOUNG MEN'S DEBATING CLUB

was organized about 1863, James A. Minor being the secretary thereof. It
flourished for nearly ten years, having weekly discussions, which were well
attended and which were ably conducted.

YOUNG MEN'S LECTURE ASSOCIATION.

This society was organized in the fall of 1867, and for some three or four
years was in successful operation, securing courses of lectures for every winter
season. Its officers in 1868 were T. J. O'Brien, president ; Frank Dickey, vice-
president ; Norris J. Frink, secretary ; John L. Evans, treasurer ; W. H. Por-
ter, J. C. Fitzgerald, John C. Patterson, George White, Howard Burgess, board
of directors.

THE YOUNG MEN ? S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION

was organized in the spring of 1868, with about one hundred members, drawn
from the various churches of the city. The society established a reading-room
over the First National bank, corner of Madison and State streets, and while
the organization was kept in operation, which was for some four years or there-
abouts, the reading-rooms were open every day and evening (Sundays not excepted),
in which were to be found copies of the leading journals and periodicals of the
day. The officers for 1868 were — President, E. L. Seargent ; Vice-President,
Dr. Matthew Gill ; Corresponding Secretary, W. R. Lewis ; Recording Secretary,
Otto L. Johnson ; Treasurer, S. W. Lester. F. H. Burgess, H. E. Phelps,
James M. Parsons, and D. W. Moon were also active in the interests of the asso-
ciation and in furthering its objects.

THE LADIES LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

of Marshall was organized January 18, 1869, at a meeting called for that pur-
pose and held in the hall of the common council. For years the idea of a public
library, to aid in the mental culture of his fellow-citizens, had been entertained by
Hon. B. Darwin Hughes, a well-known lawyer, then a resident of Marshall,
but now of Grand Rapids. To his earnest, persevering efforts the association
owes its existence, and it is proud and happy to still consider him a warm and
faithful friend. The idea, once entertained, was never abandoned, and, meeting
with nothing but discouragement in every other direction, he at length deter-
mined to lay the matter before the ladies of Marshall, hoping they might become
sufficiently interested to organize an association. The event justified his hopes,
and the long-coveted library became a fixed fact. . An organization was effected
and the following officers were elected : . . .

President, Mrs. Charles Dickey ; Vice-President, Miss Maggie Bear ; Secre-
tary, Mrs. Charles T. Gorham ; Treasurer, Mrs. C. P. Dibble ; Librarian, Mrs.
M. A. Stace.

A constitution and by-laws were adopted, and a committee appointed to solicit
donations of money and books. The library was formally opened for distribution
of books on Saturday afternoon, March 20, with two hundred and seven vol-
umes, forty of which were donated. There were at this time one hundred and
sixty-two members, and seventy- three volumes were drawn. The following Sep-
tember Mrs. Gorham resigned her office as secretary, and Mrs. George Boughton
was appointed to fill the vacancy. She says in her second annual report, —

" We find that nearly three-fourths of the books drawn are works of fiction.
Acknowledging ourselves servants of the association, we felt that we had no right,
while acting for it, to let our individual tastes govern in selecting the books to be
purchased by the money intrusted to us. Therefore we have endeavored to meet
the wants of that class of the reading public as fully as possible, without, of course,
confining ourselves exclusively to it. But these books have been conscientiously
chosen, and there has been no pandering to a vicious or depraved taste, and no
weak yielding to the demand for mere sensational novels. We are not of those
who condemn all fictitious writing merely because it is fictitious. Many of us
confess to having been helped to more just views socially and morally, and to a
fuller comprehension of important truth by some writers of so-called fiction more
than by the essays and reasonings of some of our greatest philosophers and mor-
alists. As our funds increase we shall please ourselves by purchasing more works
of history, entertaining miscellany, and the more solid and instructive works of
the best writers of our own times and of the past. We know it is not a light
or trifling thing to assist in directing minds into new channels of thought, thus
helping to mould their earthly and, through that, perhaps their eternal destiny.
Therefore let us labor and plan, not for the recreation and amusement of an idle
hour only, but for those loftier and nobler purposes, the progress and elevation of
our race."

This library has been in successful operation for nearly nine years. It now
has nineteen hundred volumes for circulation and about four hundred for
reference. It has no endowment or other fund except three hundred dollars in
bonds, and depends mainly for its support upon the annual subscriptions of its
members and a few entertainments given from time to time for its benefit. The
services of the ladies who compose its board of directors and act as officers are
entirely gratuitous, only the librarian receiving any compensation, and the com-
mon council have generously given the association the use of their hall. It looks,
however, hopefully to the time when it shall have a home of its own, which it
shall delight to beautify and adorn, gathering within its walls pictures, statuary,
and music, where it may have lectures, historical lessons, and literary entertain-
ments, to which it shall invite with pride its friends and acquaintances, and itself
linger in loved communion with the learned and eloquent of all ages, whose better
part remains, though tliey may have long since passed away. The following are
the officers last elected :

President, Mrs. George Boughton ; Vice-President," Mrs. G. S. Wright ; Sec-
retary, Miss Carrie Mitchell ; Treasurer, Miss Eva Dibble ; Librarian, Miss May
Kingsbury.

Directors. — Mrs. George S. Wright, Mrs. Chas. Dickey, Jr., Miss Minnie But-
ler, Miss Carrie Mitchell, Mrs; Edwin Mills, Mrs. Charles Jaggar, Mrs. Henry
French, Miss Sallie Aldrich, Mrs. Mary Wheeler, Mrs. George Boughton, Mrs.
Charles Dickey, Sr., Miss Eva Dibble.

MUSICAL.

Marshall is as noted for her musical talent as for any branch of her literary
attainments. Amateur talent of a high order is plentifully found among her citi-
zens and ever has been from her early history. The first society organized for
musical culture was

The Harmonic Society, which gave a rehearsal February 17, 1841, under the

64

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

leadership of N. Collins, which was spoken of by the Statesman of that date as a
very creditable performance.

The Beethoven Society, organized at Marshall, February 2, 1843, Rev. J. P.
Cleveland, president. Delegates were in attendance from Homer, Albion, Jackson,
Union City, and Jonesville. The society confined their attention to sacred music,
oratorios being the principal pieces of its repertoire. The society was successfully
conducted for some years, and created a musical taste that is visible to-day in the
many excellent trained voices in the city.

The first move for an instrumental organization in Marshall was made in 1840,
by the boys of the village, between twelve and fifteen years. The spirit was taken
from the drum corps of four companies of United States troops stationed here for
a time, to assist in gathering and removing the Indians to their reservations in the
west. The drum corps was composed of boys of fifteen years and thereabouts,
and when the troops left an organization was effected of five pieces, Charles V.
Bond, afterwards a portrait-painter of considerable repute, and Charles Ketchum
being the lifers, Claude G. Avery, afterwards burned to death in the Herndon,
and Edwin Curtis, snare drummers, and Henry A. Tillotson, the present city
marshal, bass drummer. Mr. Tillotson and Mr. Ketchum are the only survivors of
this pioneer organization, which became a very creditable band, giving rise to the

Marshall Band, which organized in June, 1842, with thirteen performers, viz. :
Charles Nash, E-flat clarionet (leader) ; Charles Ketchum, piccolo ; Erastus Ladd,
1st B-flat clarionet ; Edwin W. Curtis, 1st B-flat clarionet (treasurer) ; James
A. Way, 2d B-flat clarionet (secretary) ; Elmon S. Camp, 2d B-flat clarionet ;
W. R. McCall, cornet ; Moses Hodgman, trumpet; Henry A. Tillotson, 1st French
horn ; James D. Potts, 2d French horn ; Henry Donally, B-flat trombone ; Wm.
Lumm, Gr trombone (president) ; Orrin S. Camp, bass drum. The first meeting
of the band was the second Tuesday night in June, 1842, and their first public
appearance was at a temperance celebration in Battle Creek, on the 4th of July
following. Their first concert was given in the court-house at Marshall, August
6, 1842. This organization became noted all about the country, and went to
Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Coldwater, Jackson, and elsewhere, gaining many fine
encomiums for their skill and excellent music. In 1844 the band changed its in-
struments for brass sax-horns, and gradually, from 1857 to 1860, exchanged these
latter for silver cornets. The organization remained intact, though with more or
less change of individual members, until 1862, when the bulk of the old members
having left the city, the organization was given up. Spasmodic efforts were made
from time to time to maintain a band during the war, and some excellent organi-
zations were briefly in practice, but after the war some of the leading musicians
of the city removed or died, and for some years there was no attempt whatever
to keep up an organization, and the instruments became scattered and lost.

In 1872, The Marshall City Cornet Band was organized by some of the music-
loving Germans of the city, and by a steady and persistent effort a fine band has
arisen, composed of thirteen members, as follows : Prof. Hoffman, 1st E-flat
(leader) ; Joseph Mors, 2d E-flat (secretary) ; Watson Mead, 1st B-flat (president) ;
Prof. Desire Ruese, solo E-flat tenor ; George Kueschlee, 1st E-flat tenor ; Wil-
liam Blankenhorn, 2d E-flat tenor ; John Hoffman, 1st B-flat tenor ; Leyward
Fox, 2d B-flat tenor ; Prof. E. Mast, baritone ; Martin Weimer, bass ; Frank
Tillotson, 1st snare drum ; Richard Martin, 2d snare drum ; Frederick Schneitman,
bass drum and cymbals. This band is fast winning its way to a high rank in the
musical world, and has already gained many laurels by its excellent execution.
Prof. Hoffman is an accomplished artist and devoted musician.

The city has erected in the park (the old site of the court-house) an elegant
stand for out-door concerts, the same being sixteen feet square, eighteen feet high,
surmounted by an airy concave roof, at a cost of two hundred dollars.

There is also an amateur orchestra in the city, The Haydn Harmonic Society,
which discourses some very excellent harmony at the public concerts of the home
talent, which is of a high order in Marshall. The members of the orchestra are
as follows: Fred. Colegrove, 1st violin; Charles P. Aldrich, 2d violin; F. H.
Mills, flute ; A. B. Moore, 'cello ; W. C. Armour, pianist.

SECRET SOCIETIES.

Marshall Lodge, No. 20, F. A. M., was instituted in the year 1847-48, Dr.
Joseph Sibley being the first Worshipful Master, and F. Karstaedt, Zenas Tillot-
son, Ira Tillotson, Thomas Cook, David Aldridge, Robert Smith, Dr. Hudson,
George Ketchum, and Mr. Gillis the other charter members. Of these but two
remain in the city, the greater portion being dead. Dr. Sibley held the position
of W. M. for several years. Thomas Cook and James Crocker also filled the
Oriental chair for several terms. About the close of the year 1853 the lodge
surrendered its charter, and a new one was formed, called

St. Allan's Lodge, No. 20, which was chartered January 11, 1855, James M.
Crocker being the first W. M., Joseph Sibley S. W., and Horace J. Phelps J. W.
The lodge was instituted under dispensation in 1854. The office of Worshipful

Master has been filled as follows : James M. Crocker, 1854-55, and 1859 ; George
C. Gibbs, 1856 ; Joseph Sibley, 1857 ; Horace Phelps, 1 858 ; Isaac Beers, 1860-
61, and 1864-65; H. A. Tillotson, 1862, and 1866-67; R. H. Powell, 1863;
Albert F. Bull, 1868-70 ; John E. Chisholm, 1871-72; William Powell, 1873-
74 ; Charles Boynton, 1875-76. The present officers are William Powell, W. M. ;
W. H. Edston, S. W. ; Frank W. Boughton, J. W. ; John Adams, Treasurer ;
Charles A. Gardanier, Secretary ; W. H. Faulkner, S. D. ; Robert F. Walters,
J. D. ; O. Bennett, Tyler. The craft now numbers one hundred and seventy-eight.

Marshall Lodge, No. 294, F. A. M., was instituted January 13, 1871, by
charter, with the following officers and members : J. W. Fletcher, W. M. ; E. S.
Bronson, S. W. ; T. E. Ferguson, J. W. ; W. P. Sutton, Treasurer; W. H.
Wells, Secretary ; C. D. Clarke, S. D. ; A. J. Lusk, J. D. ; and E. B. Lusk.
The East has been occupied as follows: J. W. Fletcher, 1871-72; Charles D.
Clarke, 1873-75 ; W. H. Porter, 1876. The present officers are W. H. Porter,
W. M. ; Byron Carver, S. W. ; J. Edmonds, J. W. ; J. W. Fletcher, Treasurer ;
W. H. Wells, Secretary (deceased, and buried by the order June 3, 1877). The
old Marshall lodge was instituted the year following the lodge at Battle Creek,
which was the first one in the county.

Ijafayette Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons, was instituted under dispensa-
tion June 17, 1848, and charter granted January 3, 1850, with, the following
charter members : Thomas Cook, Joseph Sibley, Zenas Tillotson, Ira Tillotson,
Daniel Hudson, Abner Pratt, Samuel Ladd, Robert H. Smith, Daniel Pratt, H.
Cooley, George Ketchum, S. Allen, Enos Gillis, David Aldrich, and Ira Nash.
Of these Gillis and Aldrich are the only survivors at the present time. Thomas
Cook was the first High Priest, Joseph Sibley, King, and Daniel Hudson, Scribe.
The office of the High Priest has been filled as follows : Thomas Cook, 1848-50 ;
Joseph Sibley, December 18, 1850-54; James M. Crocker, 1855; George C.
Gibbs, 1856 ; Joseph Sibley, 1857 ; Theron Hamilton, 1858 ; J. J. Bardwell,
1859; Henry A. Tillotson, 1860-68; John W. Fletcher, 1869-71; John E.
Chisholm, 1872-73 ; H. A. Peterman, 1874-76. The present officers are— Wil-
liam Powell, H. P. ; Charles Bentley, K. ; Otis B. Rowley, S. ; J. H. Saunders,
Treasurer; H. A. Tillotson, Secretary; J. R. Jiron, C. H. ; H. A. Peterman,
P. S. ; J. J. Groff, R. A. C. The craft number ninety-eight.

Hiram Council, No. 14, was organized by dispensation November 19, 1861 ;
was chartered June 20, 1863, with the following charter members: Zenas Tillot-
son, Dr. Sibley, Henry A. Tillotson, Peter Sutton, Robert Scarrott, Isaac Beers,
S. P. Wormley, P. S. Warren, J. B. Warner, and others. Henry A. Tillotson
was T. I. M. from the time it was chartered until 1868, since which time H. A.
Peterman, M.D., has presided in the chair. Present officers: H. A. Peterman,
I. M.; C. S. Webster, C. G.; John Adams, D. I. M.; R. P. Wormley, G. S.; W.
B. Mead, P. C. W. ; R. Scarrott, Sentinel; J. R. Jiron, Recorder; John Saunders,
Treasurer. Present number of members, sixty-five.

Marshall Commandery, No. 17, Knights Templar, was instituted under dis-
pensation August 27, 1866; John T. Yernor, Jr., being the E. C, Lyman
Sleeper, Geno., and Jerome B. Warner, C. G. The first meeting was held De-
cember 5, 1866, there being present besides the officers first named Sir Knights
H. G. Filkins, J. W. Fletcher, George J. Barrett, N. F. Blossom, W. A. Coles,
Nath. P. Aldrich, E. Bouton Lusk, S. B. Smith, and P. H. Budlong, who
were charter members, all of whom except Smith and Yernor received the orders
in Jacobs Commandery, No. 10, Coldwater. At the first election under the
charter, held July 3. 1867, the following officers were elected: John T. Yernor,
Jr., E. C. ; Seneca B. Smith, Geno. ; J. B. Warner, C. G. ; H. G. Filkins, Prelate;
John W. Fletcher, S. W.; Erwin Ellis, J. W.; H. F. Blossom, Treas.; T. J.
O'Brien, Recorder; J. Lusk, Stand. Bearer; E. Boughton Lusk, Swd. Bearer;
Lyman Sleeper, Warder. The charter was granted June 5, 1867, and command-
ery constituted and officers installed August 4, 1867, by Past R. E. Grand Com*
mander Seaman L. Dart, the ceremonies closing up with a banquet at the Forbes
House. Theron Hamilton and Henry R. Cook, of Lafayette Chapter, No. 4,
received the order of Red Cross January 7, 1867, and Cook received the order of
K. T. on February 6, and Hamilton on February 13, 1867, f being the first can-
didates received. Sir Knight Yernor was in command of the asylum and com-
mandery, 1866-67; S. B. Smith, 1868; Edw. J. Bronson, 1869-72; John W.
W. Fletcher, 1873; Wm. Powell, 1874-76. William A. Coles filled the position
of Recorder under dispensation, and from 1868 to 1783, both years inclusive, and
J. S. Dobbins, 1874-75; Charles A. Gardanier, 1876. The present officers are
John Adams, E. C. ; Lyman Sleeper, Geno. ; Charles F. Walter, C. G. ; William
Powell, Prelate ; Wm. A. Coles, Recorder. Eighty-seven members have received
the orders in the commandery, and been admitted by limit. The Masonic hall is
owned by St. Albans lodge, Lafayette Chapter, and Marshall Commandery.
The main hall is thirty-six by sixty feet, spacious and accessible. Banquet-room,
anterooms, and armory are neatly fitted up, and give ample space for all needs
of the several bodies which meet therein.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

65

Peninsula Lodge, No. 5, I. 0. 0. F., was organized August 19, 1844, by Dis-
trict Deputy Grand Sire S. Yorke Atlee, who installed the following as the first
officers of the lodge: James Wright Gordon, N. G.; E. C. Noble, Y. G.; Benj.
Yernor, Sec'y; John B. Frink, Treas. The first initiates were Mr. Chamberlain,
A. 0. Ayde, and Geo. Cogswell, who were admitted the same evening of the in-
stitution of the lodge. B. G. Stimpson, of Detroit, was appointed to represent
this lodge in the formation of the grand lodge of Michigan. At the first election
of officers under the charter, held September 30 following (1844), the following
officers were chosen: E. C. Noble, N. G. ; Benjamin Yernor, Y. G.: John B.
Frink, Sec'y; Abram G. Butler, Treas., who were installed October 5 by the Dis-
trict Deputy Grand Sire Atlee. There have been three hundred and forty-two
members' initiated and admitted by card during the existence of the lodge, and
sixty-four members are now in good standing in the same. The present officers
are Frank C. Stuart, N. G.; Budolph Bohr, Y. G.; James M. Servoss, Bee. Sec'y;
Z. S. Ames, Per. Sec'y; Fred. Karstaedt, Treas. *

Marshall Encampment of Patriarchs, No. 2, was instituted October 20, 1844,
with the following officers and members: J. Wright Gordon, C. P.; Abram G.
Butler, H. P.; A. 0. Hyde, S. W.; E. C. Noble, Peter D. Hudson, John B.
Frink, Benj. Yernor, S. S. Alcott, and Geo. Cogswell. The encampment, after
a lapse of several years, ceased to work, and was resuscitated February 24, 1870,
or thereabouts, with the following members : Isaac G. Evans, N. G. ; C. D. Clarke,
H. P.; Z. S. Ames, S. W.; M. A. Cunningham, Scribe; Charles Fisher, Treas.;
Ed. C. Smith, J. W., and Frank Baker. Since the resuscitation the encampment
has flourished, and has now a membership of thirty.

The Knights of Honor are a society organized for life insurance purposes prin-
cipally, though each lodge can adopt such regulations as it pleases relative to
mutual benefit in case of sickness or casualties among its individual members.
It has been organized but some four years or so, but has grand bodies in several
States, and a supreme lodge in the nation. But two salaried officers are connected
with the entire organization, the Supreme Treasurer and Secretary, who notify
the subordinate lodges of all assessments and pay all losses incurred. Ten per
cent, of the gross receipts of the subordinate lodges are paid into the supreme
treasury for running expenses, and a widow and orphans' benefit fund is raised
by assessment on every member, from which every loss is paid at once on due
proof of death. No one can receive more than two thousand dollars, and the
option rests with the members to pay one-half of the assessments only, and have
one thousand dollars secured to their heirs in case of death. The admission fee
is fifteen dollars, and annual dues four dollars. The assessments are made in
advance, and covered into the supreme treasury by the subordinate lodges, who
also levy their assessments in advance, thus keeping the money on hand ready for
any emergency or call. There must never be less than two thousand dollars in
the supreme treasury at any time, but several assessments have, so far, been
kept on hand. The amount of losses already paid by the order is quite large.
The assessments are graduated on members according to their age at the time of
admission, those between twenty-one and forty-five years paying one dollar on each
assessment, and running up as high as four dollars. Membership qualifications
are soundness in body and morals. The lodge at Marshall is the Mutual Lodge,
No. 403, and was instituted December 2, 1876, with the follwoing officers and
members: John W. Fletcher, Past Dictator; W. L. Buck, Dictator; John
Adams, Yice-Dictator ; C. F. Walters, Assistant Dictator; W. H. H. Minot,
Guide ; T. E. Ferguson, Financial Beporter ; James Miller, Beporter ; C. A. Gar-
danier, Treasurer ; H. L. Joy, Chaplain ; 0. L. Johnson, Guardian ; Henry Tillot-
son, Sentinel ; George S. Barrett, Lyman Sleeper, Wm. Powell, W. H. Faulkner,
J. H. Saunders, John Baldwin, and Samuel J. Burpee. The above-named officers
are the present incumbents. There are twenty-two members in the lodge at present.

The Sacred Temple is a secret order, whose active members are exclusively
ladies. They have taken the cue from their Masonic and Odd-Fellow husbands
and brothers, and graciously allow such of these latter who are Master Masons
to be admitted to a fifth (honorary) degree ; but the real cream of the institution,
its charities and beneficent works, the ladies wisely keep in their own hands. The
order was instituted in Hillsdale, Michigan, in 1867, but has spread into some
of the neighboring States. It has a grand body, called " The Supreme Sacred
Temple of Michigan." The four degrees monopolized by the ladies " teach and
exemplify woman's duties in the social, and especially the domestic, circle." The
fifth u Honorary Brotherhood" degree, which alone is attainable by the " tyrant
man," confers upon his eminence no special privileges or secrets outside of that
especial degree ; and though he has fully entered therein, yet he finds inscribed
over the portals of the " Sacred Temple," outside of which he must ever remain,
the legend over Paradise, — " Procul, procul este, profani !" The Sacred Temple
of Marshall, No. 7, was instituted February 4, 1870, under dispensation, being
chartered the following October, with the following officers and members : Mrs.
S. A. Peterman, Worthy Mistress ; Mrs. B. E. Sleeper, F. C. ; Mrs. M. E. John-
9

son, Treasurer; Mrs. Jane Leach, Secretary; Mrs. Houghton, Mrs. Sayles, Mrs.
Bruce, Mrs. Lathrop, Miss Wilson, Mrs. Millard, and others. The organization
now numbers forty members. The society planned a hall, and had it arranged
according to its needs, and occupy it exclusively, and have furnished it in accord-
ance with the original idea of a temple, as propounded by the founder of the
order (a lady), though it is not quite complete at the present time. The society
has occupied the hall since July 9, 1875. Mrs. Peterman has held the office of
Worthy Mistress since the organization of the temple, and Mrs. Sleeper has
served three years as F. C, and has also been the Grand Secretary of the Supreme
Sacred Temple one year. Mrs. Peterman has held the position of Supreme
Matron three years, and Grand Treasurer one year. The present officers of the
Marshall Temple are : Mrs. S. A. Peterman, Worthy Mistress ; Mrs. H. Sayles,
F. C. ; Mrs. B. E. Sleeper, Treasurer ; Miss E. Paddock, Secretary.

Marshall Grange, No. 83, Patrons of Husbandry, was instituted October 1,
1873, and includes the consolidation of the North Marshall Grange, No. 99, and
Eckford Grange, No. 100. The first Master of Marshall Grange was Devillo
Hubbard ; the second, George B. McKay ; and the third, J. A. Davis. The
grange now numbers three hundred and twenty-four members. Its present
officers are — Henry L. Day, Master ; W. F. Hewitt, Overseer ; A. Hosmer, Lec-
turer ; George S. Woolsey, Secretary ; Putnam Boot. Treasurer ; Mrs. Lucy
Huggett, Ceres ; Mrs. J. Leonard, Pomona ; Miss Hattie Hosmer, Flora.

Marshall Division, No. 18, Sons of Temperance, was organized May 18, 1847,
with fourteen charter members : James A. Way, W. P. ; E. D. Ladd, W. A. ;
J. W. Wilder, B. S. ; W. B. McCall, F. S. ; F. F. Quinn, Treasurer. It continued
to work flourishingly for some years, but finally suspended in April, 1853. It
had a large membership at one time, among which were some of the best citizens
of the village, and, as one of the old members says, " some of the hardest cases,"
most of whom were wholly reclaimed.

Marshall Division, No. 7, S. of T, was organized in July, 1859, for a special
object, and ceased to work as soon as its purpose was accomplished. The promi-
nent men of the old division were the prime actors in the new division.

Marshall Lodge, No. 410, I. O. G. T, was organized July 20, 1866. This
was a reorganization of the first Good Templars' lodge, and it continued for some
years, and then ceased.

Marshall Lodge, No. — , /. O. G. T, was instituted in January, 1855, with
fifteen charter members : S. Steele, W. C. T. ; Seth Lewis, W. Y. T. ; W. A.
Wilder, Secretary; George B. Murray, Treasurer. The lodge ceased working
August, 1856.

Charter Lodge, No. 508, I. O. G. T, was instituted April 20, 1867, with a
goodly number of members, among whom were F. H. Burgess, W. C. T. ; Mat-
thew -Gill, W. Y. T. ; I. D. McCutcheon, W. S. ; J. B. Ferguson, W. T. It
worked contemporaneously with Marshall lodge, No. 410, and ceased its meetings
May 5, 1868.

The Reform Club of Marshall, the offspring of the " red ribbon movement"
inaugurated in Michigan by Dr. Beynolds, in 1877, was organized in April of
the latter year, and now numbers some three hundred members of all classes
of the citizens, — teetotalers by nature and practice for years, temperate drinkers
previously, and common drunkards. The movement has swept over certain cities
and villages in the State like the tides of the sea, carrying whole communities
before it. It has met with encouraging results thus far in Marshall, and the club
formed here have reading-rooms and hold frequent meetings. Its officers are as
follows : John Smith, president ; Bobert Donally, first vice-president ; John Mc-
Hugh, second vice-president ; Frank Warmington, corresponding secretary ; Y.
M. Bandall, financial secretary ; G. W. Steele, treasurer. There are from three
hundred to three hundred and fifty 'members.

The temperance movement of 1838-40, and the Washingtonians of 1842, were
ably seconded by the people of Marshall ; Bev. J. P. Cleveland, the president of
the Marshall college, being the foremost man in both movements.

The Marshall Section of Cadets of Temperance was organized by the youths
of Marshall in 1847, with F. T. Quinn, W. P. ; William Hobart, W. A. ; Charles
Houston, Y. A. ; Bobert Cross, T. ; P. Crissey, A. T. ; Alonzo Crissey, Secretary ;
William Phelps, A. Secretary ; Luther Hays, Guide ; F. Austin, Usher ; James
Sergeant, W. ; James Bentley, Sentinel. It was in active operation but a short
time.

The New England Society of Marshall was formed December 22, 1846, and
adopted a constitution and by-laws, confining the membership to natives of New
England. The following officers were elected : Joseph Chedsey, of Yermont,
president ; Jarvis Hurd, of the same State, Dr. A. L. Hays, of New Hampshire,
Hovey K. Clarke, of Massachusetts, Charles T. Gorham, of Connecticut, Ban-
dall Hobart, of Yermont, and Charles Dickey, of New Hampshire, vice-presi-
dents ; James M. Parsons, of Massachusetts, secretary ; and Henry C. Bunce, of
Connecticut, treasurer. The society hold reunions on the anniversary of the

66

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

landing of the Pilgrims, and very enjoyable occasions are had. The present
officers are W. It. McCall, president, and George S. Wright, secretary.

The Marshall Dramatic Association was formed in the winter of 1862, the
first appearance of the same being before a Marshall audience March 12, 1862.
Messrs. Duer, Hollon, Wilkinson, J. E. Miles, and J. W. Fletcher were " leading
men" at that time.

During the war the association was maintained, and included a fine array of
native talent, and contributed no little to the people's pleasure, as well as aided
materially in supplying the soldiers' aid society with funds for its works of mercy.
After the war the association was maintained during the winter season for some
years, and, though not actively engaged in rehearsals, the members are ready to
respond to any call for home pleasure or assistance, and can and do produce
their pieces creditably.

Messrs. Edward Way, Frank Phelps, M. S. O'Keefe, and others of the young
men are among the present material of the company, and a goodly number of the
young ladies of the city, among whom are some of decided histrionic talent, are
also of the company.

The Marshall Boat-club was organized May 13, 1876, and reorganized Febru-
ary, 1877. The present officers are S. J. Burpee, president; John Adams, vice-
president; Charles A. Dibble, treasurer; Will A. Coles, secretary; Ed. C. Way,
captain. The club was organized for amusement and exercise only, and are not
members of any association. The Kalamazoo river, for a distance of three miles,
affords them ample opportunity for their field of usefulness ; while the more mus-
cular find an excellent course for one and one-half miles, or from the lower buoy
to Cold Springs. The club have a lease of Tucker's grove or Cold Spring grove,
distant one and one-half miles from the city, which is reached by the river or
carriage road, or by the Michigan Central railroad, whose cars pass the grove.
The grove contains about six acres, and is one of the most beautiful grounds for
pleasure purposes to be found in the State, and is being fitted with suitable build-
ings for refreshment, camping, or pleasure purposes. Swings and the usual amuse-
ments, croquet-grounds, etc., are always to be found, while the lovers of aquatic
sports can find good boats for rental. There are, at the present writing, forty-five
members. The club are owners of the ten-oared barge " Wawahtasse," built by La
Chapelle, Detroit, Michigan, at a cost of four hundred dollars ; it is fifty-one feet
long, four feet seven inches beam, and has capacity for twenty-five persons ; also,
four-oared outrigged barge, " Coquette," built by Hubbell Brothers, at a cost of one
hundred and fifty dollars ; length, thirty feet ; thirty-one inches beam. Carries
coxswain.

A suitable boat-house is also owned by the club, length, sixty by twenty feet,
fully equipped, with lockers, etc., wherein are stored the barges. The Centennial
boat-house, sixty feet by eighteen feet, contains the private boats of the members,
which are as costly, and, without doubt, as fine pleasure-boats as are in the
State. The barge, crews are finely uniformed. Four steamboats are among the
property of the members of the club, viz. : " S. J. Burpee," built at Marshall, thirty-
six feet long, fifteen horse-power, screw propeller, owned by Captain John Cawood,
is a steamer first-class in all respects, and has capacity for carrying seventy-five
persons with safety. It is used for picnic purposes. Steamer " Comfort," Captain
Myron O'Keefe, owner, built at Marshall, is also used for pleasure and picnic pur-
poses ; her length is twenty-five feet, accommodations for twenty persons, three and

one-half horse-power, screw. Steamer ~, Captain W. H. Elston, eighteen feet

long, has a rotary engine, three horse-power, propelled by screw, is elegantly fitted
and equipped, and is used for pleasure purposes only. Master Lou. Joy also has
a small boat propelled by steam.

The private gymnasium of the president of the club, S. J. Burpee, is placed
at the use of the members of the boat-club by that liberal-souled gentleman.
He has equipped it with ladder, trapeze, parallel bars, health lift, Indian clubs,
dumb bells, pocket gymnasium, etc., and it forms a most excellent adjunct to the
club's exercises.

The Gyre Club, which was organized as a shooting-club, also has its club rooms
near by the gymnasium, where a good billiard-table, etc., are free to the members
at all times, all provided for by the liberality of Mr. Burpee.

MILITARY.

In May, 1858, a military organization was effected, called the Marshall Light
Guards, with Horace Phelps captain, K. A. Hunton (afterwards lieutenant-colonel
of the Engineers and Mechanics regiment in the war for the Union), first lieu-
tenant ; Frank Dickey, second lieutenant, afterwards major of the Eighth Michigan
cavalry ; H. C. Hawkins, third lieutenant.

A company was subsequently formed among the German citizens, Charles
Heine being captain, who was afterwards captain of the Fourteenth battery of
Michigan light artillery.

DISASTROUS CONFLAGRATIONS.

Many times has Marshall been visited by fires by which property of considerable
value has been destroyed. The more noted and disastrous conflagrations are the
following: May 31, 1861, Perrin's block and several adjoining stores and their
stocks were destroyed or badly damaged. September 18, 1861, the planing-mill
and sash-factory of Church & Webster, and other buildings, and a large stock of
lumber were destroyed, creating a loss of ten thousand dollars. On the 28th of
the same month, the Davis bakery, Devereux store, and other buildings were de-
stroyed, entailing a loss of eight thousand dollars. In 1869, a fire occurred in
Perrinville, by which a large amount of property was destroyed, and again in
1872, another disastrous conflagration destroyed the stone and frame flouring-mills,
the Novelty Iron Works of John Adams, the sash-, door-, and blind-factory of
J. L. Dobbins, a large boarding-house and grocery and two private dwellings, in
Perrinville. In 1840, F. A. Kingsbury's furniture factory was burned, and all
his stock and tools ; and the stone mill on the Kalamazoo was burned once before
its last destruction, and so too was the frame flouring-mill, which had been rebuilt.
On December 28, 1861, a fire destroyed Hyde & Joy's drug-store, Charles Kil-
lian's and Knight's boot and shoe stores, and the " Red White and Blue" hard-
ware-store, a heavy loss being incurred.

Among the many disastrous conflagrations which have visited Marshall, the
most terrible one was that by which the Herndon House was destroyed, and made
calamitous by the loss of life occasioned thereby. The fire broke out Friday morning,
September 24, 1875, its origin being undiscovered. Claude G. Avery was suffo-
cated, his wife being saved by his heroic efforts and those of Ed. Elliott. Antoine
Graber, an employee of the New England Cigar Co., was burned. Eliza King, a
servant in the house, was killed by falling from the fourth story, in endeavoring
to cover her form, she being almost nude. The cook also was injured, so that she
afterwards died, by jumping out of the window. Eleven other persons were more
or less seriously injured. The scenes were heart-rending in the extreme, and no
calamity has visited Marshall in all of her history so dreadful as this. George
W. Watson was the proprietor of the hotel at the time, his loss being six thousand
dollars. The loss on the Herndon was seventeen thousand dollars, and on the
store adjoining, six thousand dollars. The guests lost everything they had, and
some of them suffered heavily. Two of the firemen were injured, William R.
Lewis being struck on the head by a falling ladder, and Rudolph Wirtz had his
wrist severely cut by hot glass.

THE MUNICIPALITY.

The village of Marshall was first incorporated October 28, 1837. At the meet-
ing held for deciding the question of incorporation, Dr. A. S. Hays and Sidney
S. Alcott were judges of the election, and David L. Johns the clerk. Henry
Hewitt, a justice of the peace, administered the oath of office to the officials.
There were thirty-seven votes polled, Sidney S. Alcott receiving thirty-five of
them for president of the corporation, and Dr. Hays, David L. Johns, Chas. T.
Gorham, Chas. D. Smith, John Hutchinson, and Luther W. Hart were elected
trustees, and Cyrus Hewitt recorder. These officials were in no indecent haste to
assume their brief authority, as they did not qualify by taking the oath of office
until January 6, 1838, Esquire Hewitt "swearing them in." On the 19th of
July following, the president and trustees Johns and Hays were appointed a com-
mittee to draft a code of by-laws and ordinances for the government of the board
and its officials, and they reported on the 23d of the same month, providing for
more officials, to wit : a treasurer, assessors, marshal, street commissioners, and
fire-wardens. Householders were directed under rigorous penalties to keep their
sidewalks (?) clear and take especial care of their ashes. Grocers were prohibited
from selling their " wet groceries" on the Sabbath-day, and exhorted vigorously
to prevent " loafing" about their premises on the same day, and to prevent all un-
necessary noise thereon. General hygienic rules and observances were adopted;
cattle, horses, and hogs were denied the right of free commoners about the streets.
The board adopted a remarkably early hour for their meetings, — at eight o'clock
a.m. on the first Tuesday of each month, — for what reason no "whereas" on the
record indicates. The board elected C. M. Brewer treasurer, Marvin Preston and
Peter Chisholm assessors, J. G. Dean, Isaac Murdenburgh, street inspectors, Man-
lius Mann, B. K. Cressey, and Edward Butler fire-wardens. Recorder Hewitt
removed from the village, and S. H. Preston was elected to fill the vacancy. The
first sidewalk was ordered January 12, 1839, the specifications requiring the same
to be made of plank, three feet wide, and commencing at the west end of the
courthouse square, continuing across the same, and along the north side of State
street to the east line of the corporation, with cross-walks at the National, the
post-office, and the street east of Gorham & Brewer's store, and at the market ;
and the president and trustees Gorham and Hutchinson were placed in charge of

*-' ^^- i ^ :rt '^>^;"• 1 ^?•^.

Residence of JOHN ADAMS, Marshall Ave Marshall, Michigan.

1 . gr' ■.■"'" 'j'Wi...

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

67

the work. January 25 the streets in the village were named, the northernmost
one of those running east and west being called Prospect, and followed south by
Mansion, State, Green, Hanover, and Spruce ; the easternmost one of the north
and south streets being called Eagle, and followed west by Grand, Kalamazoo,
Sycamore, Mulberry, and Forest. The street running southeast from the court-
house was named Monroe, and the alleys on the court-house square were called
the Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, and Southeast alleys, respectively.

The second election was held May 6, 1839, and Luther W. Hart was elected
president, Chauncey M. Brewer recorder, Edward Butler treasurer, Charles
Dickey marshal, and Charles T. Gorham assessor. In July of that year the
board discounted one-half of the taxes it had levied, and ordered Marshal Dickey
to collect the other half at once. The committee on sidewalks did not do the
work to suit the new board, and their powers were revoked and the marshal
ordered to finish the job. The taxes on the Bank of Marshall were annulled.

At the election of 1840, Joseph C. Frink was elected president, and John A.
Van Home recorder, forty votes being polled. One hundred dollars were levied
for current expenses. No licenses were granted to sell ardent or spirituous liquors ;
on motion of trustee Win. R. MeCall, but two were granted to sell beer, ale, and
cider. The board also refused to license a bowling-alley. April 6, 1841, the
board voted to issue shinplasters on the Bank of Marshall for six and a quarter
cents, twelve and a half cents, eighteen and three-quarters cents, twenty-five cents,
thirty-seven and a half cents, and fifty cents each, the bank to redeem them in
current funds when presented in sums not exceeding ten dollars.

At the election of 1841 one hundred and twenty-six votes were polled, and
Joseph C. Frink re-elected president, and Edward Butler chosen recorder. The
shinplasters were redeemed by J. C. Frink, Edward Butler, and C. M. Brewer
(treasurer), with funds arising from their issue.

In 1842 two hundred and forty-four votes were polled, Joseph Chedsey being
elected president and Geo. Woodruff recorder. The village was divided into two
wards, and the name of the board changed to " Common Council," and a new
code of ordinances adopted. August 9 of this year the menagerie of June, Titus,
Angevine & Co. exhibited in the village, paying ten dollars for the privilege into
the corporation treasury. New streets were opened and named March 14, 1843.

The following gentlemen filled the position of president from 1842 until the
city of Marshall was incorporated : Ira Tillotson, 1843 and 1846 ; Ira Wood,
1844; Geo. Ketchum, 1845; Chas. Dickey, 1847; Lansing Kingsbury, 1848;
Bandall Watson, 1849 ; Zenas Tillotson, 1850 ; James A. Hahn, 1851 ; J. E.
Crary, 1854; Nathan H. Humphrey, 1855; H. A. Noyes, 1856; E. 0. Crit-
tenden, 1857 ; Lucius G. Noyes, 1858. The recorders were as follows during
the same period: C. M. Brewer, 1843, '45, '46; B. Banks, 1844; A. 0. Hyde,
1847 ; Edward Butler, George N. Smith, W. R. MeCall, Henry A. Woodruff,
W. P. Sutton, C. H. Beach, George Johnson, Seth Lewis, John J. Bardwell,
and C. P. Dibble each held the position one year in the order they are named,
with the exception of Bardwell, who held it two years, 1856-57. In 1859 the
boundaries of the village were enlarged to two miles square, and the same erected
into a city government, and the following officials were chosen : Chas. P. Dibble,
mayor; Elias Hewitt, recorder; Jonas B. Conkling, treasurer; and Henry Z.
Williams, marshal. School Inspectors, Geo. Woodruff, two years ; Elisha Gil-
bert, one year. Justices of the Peace, Amos Hewitt, one year ; Martin D. Strong,
two years; Isaac W. Wilder, three years; Francis W. Shearman, four years.
Directors of the Poor, James Winters and Seth Lewis. Aldermen, first ward,
Harvey M. Dixon, one year ; Claudius B. Webster, two years ; Horace A. Noyes,
three years; second ward, Preston Mitchell, one year; Jonah J. Martin, two
years; Frederick A. Kingsbury, three years. Constables, Charles E. Harvey,
Wm. Prindle, Loren Wing, and Peter Kocher.

Mayor Dibble was inaugurated March 17, 1859, and delivered a ringing in-
augural, in which he made a strong and earnest plea for a systematic, efficient,
and economical administration of the city government, and for a water-supply
and protection against fires, and commended to the council the cemetery and its
needs. Isaac W. Wilder was appointed city attorney, and John H. Wells chief
engineer of the fire department. The total expenses of the first year of the city
government amounted to five thousand two hundred and twelve dollars and
seventy-two cents.

In April, 1865, the council passed severe condemnatory resolutions upon the
assassination of President Lincoln, expressing sorrow for his loss, and detestation
of the crime and the perpetrators thereof.

The following gentlemen have held the position of mayor of the city since
1859: D. Darwin Hughes, 1860-61; Preston Mitchell, 1862; Abner Pratt,
deceased, and Chas. Cameron, 1863 ; Joseph C. Frink, 1864 ; Justin D. Wooley,
1865-68 ; A. 0. Hyde, 1869 ; F. Karstaedt, 1870 ; John Adams, 1871 ; David
S. Beach, 1872 ; S. J. Burpee, 1873 ; W. H. Porter, 1874-75 ; Wm. Powell,
1876. The recorders during the same period have been Nicholas K. Maniates,

1860; W. H. Humphrey, 1861; F. W. Shearman, 1862-63; C. P. Dibble,
1864; James A. Miner, 1865; Willis S. Geer, 1866-67; James R. Ferguson,
1868 ; John S. Evans, 1869; Bernard McHugh, 1870-72 ; David Cunningham,
1873-74, 76 ; W. N. Wilder, 1875. The justices of the peace who have held
more than a single term of four years are F. W. Shearman, fifteen years (dead) ;
E. H. Lawrence, eight years ; Jas. A. Robinson, eight years ; Francis A. Stace,
eight years ; Nelson A. Brooks, five years. Present incumbents, S. S. Lacey,
1874-77 ; M. D. Strong, 1875-79 ; Herbert A. Reed, 1876-80 ; Charles M.
Whiting, 1877-81.

The following-named gentlemen have filled the position of supervisor of the
city, as follows : Harvey M. Dixon, 1865-66 ; Robert Huston, 1867-74 ; Jas.
T. Downs, 1875-77.

The city government for 1877 is as follows : Mayor, Dr. H. L. Joy ; Recorder,
David Cunningham ; Treasurer, Jno. Cronin ; Aldermen, first ward, Jno. Adams,
Geo. T. Phelps ; second ward, Nathan Humphrey, J. M. Laberteaux ; third ward,
Wm. Bodell, Wm. Bedford ; fourth ward, Charles Boynton, Chas. Walter ; Mar-
shal, .H. H. Tillotson; City Attorney, W. H. Porter; President Board of Health,
his honor the mayor ; Chief Engineer, Daniel Ross.

The revenue of the city for 1876-77 was as follows: taxes levied and col-
lected in the winter of 1877, general fund, $3200.84 ; mill tax, $1752.36 ; street
and bridge tax, $3276.45; school tax, $15,520.57; fire department, $3134.24;
for payment of bonds, $5000 ; total taxes levied, $31,884.46 ; add to this liquor
tax received (1876), $2927.92 ; total revenue, $34,812.38.

The present bonded indebtedness of the city is, for school-houses, $40,000 ;
general, $12,500. Total, $52,500.

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT/

The first fire company formed in Marshall was organized in 1840, before any
means of putting out fires were owned by the corporation, and pails were the only
available vehicles for the transportation and utilization of water on the occasions
of service of the company. On the 5th of August, 1845, the question of the
purchase of a fire-engine was submitted to the people, who voted for the im-
mediate purchase of one, and on December 10, 1845, the common council bought
one of Peaslee, ordered it painted scarlet, christened it the "Phoenix," and directed
the manufacturer to put a proper design on it. In 1846 the council bought hooks
and ladders, and built some reservoirs about the business portion of the village.
In 1847, the fire-engine, proving unsatisfactory, had been returned, and another
meeting of the people voted five hundred dollars additional to the sum already
appropriated to buy a new and better machine. The council appointed Dr.
Comstock as its agent to buy an engine not to exceed seven hundred dollars
in the cost thereof. April 8, 1847, a Britton machine was bought, and an engine-
house temporarily obtained. The new machine was named " The Deluge," and
when it arrived, the fire company then in existence and known as Deluge Fire
Company No. 1 had to house it, buy their own uniforms, and pay all the ex-
penses of running their company and keeping the engine in order. The old
" Deluge" was a second-class engine, but a very powerful one of that class, and in
many contests at the firemen's tournaments in the State won the first prize. She
has been known to throw a stream two hundred and nineteen feet, but her usual
record was two hundred feet. In Jackson, in competition with twenty engines,
but four machines, and they all first-class, beat her record, and she was decorated
with the champion trumpet. The Deluge fire company dissolved its organization
when the steamer came, October 9, 1871 ; but the old machine is brought out on
parade days and in emergencies, and, manned by volunteers, shows how her old
triumphs were won by the " spirts" she can yet make upon a " pinch."

In 1863 the council bought the " Liberty," No. 8. This engine was built by
William Jeffers & Son, of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, for the Continental Fire Com-
pany No. 8, of Detroit, and sold to Liberty No. 3, of Jackson, in 1857. While in
the hands of the Jacksonians the engine carried the champion banner at three
tournaments. A company called the " Germania" was organized to run with the
" Liberty," but was subsequently changed to the Liberty, as it is now known.
The department was reorganized in March, 1871, at which time the Rescue Hook
and Ladder Company was organized, with thirteen members originally, the first
officers being James W. Powell, foreman (now deceased, and the only member the
company has lost) ; Charles D. Clarke, first assistant ; W. H. H. Minot, second
assistant ; W. A. Coles, secretary ; George Perrett, treasurer. The truck was
received on Monday, May 15, 1871, and was received by the company and a
parade of the entire department and city government. It was built by John
Lower, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, and is thirty-eight feet eight inches in
length over all, and is now fully equipped with two hundred and fifty feet of
ladders, and hooks, axes, etc., the weight of truck and its equipment being two
thousand four hundred pounds. The cost of the truck alone was eleven hundred

68

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

dollars. The first fire the company was called to and in which the truck did
service was that of July 17, 1871, when Spring's store was burned.

On the 18th day of July, 1871, the steamer "Wolverine" was ordered by
council on the recommendation of his honor, Mayor Adams, and on October 9,
1871, the same arrived in Marshall. It was built by the Amoskeag Company
of Manchester, New York, and is a second-class machine, numbered 375,
and cost with the hose cart four thousand five hundred dollars. In 1874 a
patent heater was attached to the steamer, since which time it has been con-
stantly kept under steam, and the horses, two fine heavy bays, which were
bought at the same time the steamer was purchased, are kept harnessed ready at
a moment's warning to start on the run for the scene of destruction. At the
reception of the steamer a hose company was organized called the Wolverine
Hose Company, which is still attached to the department. At the last review of
the department, May 17, 1877, a test of efficiency and speed was made by loca-
ting the steamer, truck, Liberty No. 8, and the hose cart at a distance of a square
from a central cistern and well, and at a given signal each leaving the station as-
signed and charging for the common centre, and getting ready for the duties in-
cumbent upon each in time of actual service. The results were very complimen-
tary to the companies.

The Rescue Hook and Ladder Company is the only exclusively volunteer
company in the city, and they are now holding the champion trumpet of the
State for efficiency and celerity of movement. The uniform of the Rescue was
bought at a cost of three hundred and seventy-five dollars, and consists of the
New York regulation fire hat, eight cones, red shirt, black belt, and black
pants. When originally organized it had forty members, but now numbers fifty.
The department numbers one hundred and twenty-seven men and officers, and one
chief and two assistant engineers.

John Ross, the chief engineer, has been in the city volunteer department for
twenty-one consecutive years. The assistant engineers are 0. C. Tompkins, first,
and J. F. Gans, second.

Rescue Hook and Ladder Company has fifty men, and is officered as follows :
John Smythe, foreman ; Charles A. Dibble, first assistant ; H. W. Raymond,
second assistant ; Z. S. Denison, secretary ; W. R. Lewis, treasurer. W. A. Coles
was foreman and secretary three years.

Liberty Company has sixty men, and its officers are as follows: Antoine
Egler, foreman ; John Hetkorn, assistant ; Fred. Schneidman, secretary ; Fred.
Karstaedt, treasurer.

Wolverine Hose Company has twelve men : Ed. Butler, foreman. W. H. Wells,
its late secretary and treasurer, was accidentally injured after the close of the
review, May 17, 1877, and died in consequence thereof, and was buried by the
department and the Masonic fraternity on Sunday, June 3. The steamer has a
driver and engineer.

The city built an engine-house in 1867, on State street, between Eagle and
Jefferson, which is thirty by eighty feet and two stories high, surmounted by a
bell-tower and look-out station. The engines are kept on the first floor, and the
second one is occupied by the council-room and city recorder's office and the fire-
man's hall. It cost six thousand nine hundred dollars, including the lower, which
was built in 1874.

THE WATER-SYSTEM

of Marshall is as unique as it is exhaustive. In 1856 the council negotiated with
Arthur M. Odell for a water-supply, either by logs or pipes, but nothing came of
the proposed system. In 1859, Mayor Dibble, in his inaugural as the first mayor
of the city, among other recommendations urged upon the council the pressing
necessity for an adequate water-supply, and the council, in 1860, proceeded to ex-
periment on artesian wells, paying seven hundred and forty-six dollars and ninety-
seven cents for one three hundred feet deep. At his second inaugural, in 1861,
Mayor Hughes called the attention of the council to the question of the practi-
cability of the artesian system, and suggested the nature of the underlying rock
to be such that it was of very doubtful propriety to expend further money in the
experiment. But the experiment was carried on at considerable cost, until it
was demonstrated that the deep boring was a useless and unprofitable expenditure.
In 1872 a system of artesian wells, of shallow depth, was believed to be practi-
cable, and to be secured by driving stand-pipes through the soil and rock to what
were hoped to be inexhaustible natural reservoirs. The experiment was tried,
and the theory demonstrated to be according to the facts, and contracts were
accordingly made on the 15th of April, 1872, for more wells, distributed in
various parts of the city. These proving to be successful in operation and in-
exhaustible in supply, more have been driven about the city, until, at the present
time, there are thirty-three of these wells owned by the city, and named in honor
of the aldermen of the same. The cost of the same has been six thousand dol-
lars. They are simple in construction, being merely an iron pipe driven to the

depth of from eighteen to seventy feet, at which depth it seems to reach an
immense reservoir of water underlying the whole city. In these pipes the water
rises to a certain height, varying from three feet upward to twenty-eight feet from
the surface of the ground. The head of the pipe is fitted with a hydrant-pipe,
to which the hose of the steamer is attached, and when the air in the pipe above
the water-level is exhausted the water flows up, the pipe forming simply a con-
tinuation of the hose, the water being lifted by the suction of the engine. These
wells have been drawn from in this manner by the steamer for many hours con-
tinuously without any perceptible diminution of the supply of water therein.

THE POLICE DEPARTMENT

is in charge of the city marshal, who is the chief. There is but one patrolman,
who is on duty every night ; but a reserve force of five men in each ward are sub-
ject to orders in case of emergency. The police magistrates are the regularly
chosen justices of the peace, the present incumbents being Hon. S. S. Lacey,
Charles M. Whiting, Esq., M. D. Strong, Esq., and H. A. Reed, Esq. The
county jail serves the city for a lock-up.

The streets are lighted by forty-two gas-burners located at the corners of the
streets in the business portion of the city, and elsewhere about the residence
portion as required, the gas being supplied by the Marshall Gas Company.

THE BRIDGES.

In 1864 the stone (arched) bridge over Rice creek was constructed at a cost
of four thousand five hundred dollars, and in 1867 the iron bridge was built, at an
expense of three thousand one hundred and fifty dollars, over the Kalamazoo-

THE MARSHALL CEMETERY

was first opened to the public in 1839. Previous to this date the dead were
sepultured in a little plat of ground in the village selected by John D. Pierce
and Isaac E. Crary on land belonging to Isaac N. Hurd, and in which plat Mr.
Hurd was himself the first burial within a week after the plat was selected, he
being the first victim of the cholera. Mrs. John D. Pierce was the second burial,
and was interred July 25, 1832, less than a week after Mr. Hurd's death. After
the new cemetery was opened the old plat fell into disuse, and the remains already
resting there were, many of them at least, taken up and reinterred in the new
grounds. The Marshall Cemetery Company was incorporated in 1840 ; Jabez S.
Fitch, Daniel Hudson, and James P. Greeves being the incorporators. The
grounds originally contained 11.44 acres, and form a portion of the present ceme-
tery, which contains thirty acres. The common council of the city, in conformity
with an enabling act passed by the legislature in 1850 for the purpose, in 1852
assumed control of the cemetery, and added, in 1859, fourteen and a half acres,
and more subsequently. The cost of the city's- improvements has been one thou-
sand and thirty-six dollars. There have been two thousand three hundred and
fifty-five interments in the grounds since its opening to March 19, 1877. The
cemetery is very pleasantly and eligibly situated on the high grounds south of
the river and east of Marshall avenue, and overlook the city and country round
about for some distance. Grading has been done to some extent, but the greater
part of the ornamentation of the grounds has been done by individuals, whose
loved ones are sleeping quietly beneath the grass and flowery sod.

POPULATION.

In 1860 the census returns revealed a population in the first ward of the city
of 1536 souls, and 2044 in the second ward, total 3580, and who dwelt in 793
houses. In 1870 the total population amounted to 4925 persons, constituting
1115 families with 1085 domiciles. They were divided among the different wards
as follows: First ward, 797; second, 1006; third, 1610; fourth, 1512. 2369
were males, and 2556 were of the opposite sex. In 1874 the population was not
returned by wards. The total number of inhabitants as shown by the census of
that year was 4623 ; 2224 being males and 2399 females. Of males of the mili-
tary age, between twenty-one and forty-five years, there were 724 ; 447 were
exempt from draft by reason of age, 27 of the latter being over seventy-five years
of age. Of ladies of marriageable age there were 830, while those who exceeded
the limit of the professor of social statistics — forty years — numbered 577, 28
being beyond the age of seventy-five years. The benedicts exceeded the bach-
elors largely, there being 877 of the former to 224 of the latter over twenty-one
years of age. The same disparity, too, was noticable among the ladies; the
matrons numbering 886, and their maiden sisters over eighteen years tallying
but 315.

THE POLITICAL BIAS

of the voters of the city of Marshall it shown by the balloting at the Presiden-
tial elections. In 1860 the vote stood thus : first ward — Republican, 184,

x V

B€NJAUtm F. CUffTfS.

SEE BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, PAGE 73.

ftmrn

* ?W i k

Residence or BENJAMIN F.CURTIS, Marshall, Michigan.

DANIEL WOOLSEY.

The subject of this sketch, Daniel Woolsey,
is one of the sterling, reliable citizens of Mar-
shall township, of which he has been a resi-
dent upon his present location for more than
forty years. He was born in Colchester, Dela-
ware county, New York, March 5, 1808, and
removed with his father to Covert, Seneca
county, in the same State, in 1828, where he
resided until 1836, when he came to Calhoun
County, and located upon his present farm,
which he had purchased from the Government
the fall previous. He was married February
15, 1832, to Juliana Shaver, of Colchester,
New York, who died September 2, 1862, leav-
ing five children, all married and well settled
in Calhoun County, viz. : Sarah G., now Mrs.
Benjamin M. Templeton; Richard H., George
S., Mary E., now Mrs. A. G. Rowley; and
Clarinda M., now Mrs. James R. Huggett.
On the 26th day of September, 1863, Mr.
Woolsey took to himself another wife in the
person of Susan Sniffin, of Seneca county, New
York, who died October 15, 1865, leaving him
again alone and desolate ; and finding his lonely
condition unbearable, he married again, on
September 19, 1866, Mrs. Samantha L. Perci-

Daniel Woolsey.

val, of Galesburg, Kalamazoo county, Michigan.
Mr. Woolsey began his political partisanship by
espousing the anti-Masonic cause, and then
joined the Whig ranks, and has been identified
with the Republican party since its first organi-
zation. He was elected supervisor of Marshall
township in 1861, and held the position eight
years continuously, and was treasurer of the
township bounty fund during the war of the
Rebellion. He united with the Baptist church
at the age of twenty-two years, and has ever
since been an active and zealous member thereof,
officiating for several years as a deacon therein.
When he first purchased his land it was wild
and unimproved, but by his labors he has
brought it forward to its present excellent state
of cultivation and improvement. The third
year of his residence thereon he was attacked
with sickness, and was confined to the house for
two years, during which time he lost his harvest,
and endured the severest hardships and priva-
tions ; but the principle which has actuated him
through life was not forsaken even under those
most trying circumstances, and to-day, at the
age of almost threescore years and ten, he can
say, as he does say with just pride, he never
owed a debt he could not pay at sight.

Residence or DANIEL WOOLSEY, Marshall, Michigan.

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

69

Democratic, 166; second ward — Republican, 252, Democratic, 221. Total, Re-
publican, 436 ; Democratic, 387.

In 1864 the voting lists wore a different complexion, standing as follows :
Republican — first ward, 150, second ward, 202; Democratic — first ward, 167;
second ward, 258. Total, Republican, 352 ; Democratic, 425.

In 1868 the tally-lists revealed a Democratic ascendency of 93 majority, the
vote being thus : Democratic — first ward, 66 ; second ward, 102 ; third ward, 183 ;
fourth ward, 207. Total Democratic, 558. Republican — first ward, 101 ;
second ward, 124; third ward, 145; fourth ward, 105. Total Republican, 475.

In 1872 the Democratic majority fell to 21, the vote being as follows : Re-
publican — first ward, 103 ; second ward, 118 ; third ward, 130 ; fourth ward, 114 ;
Total, 465. Democratic — first ward, 72 ; second ward, 83 ; third ward, 153 ; fourth
ward, 178. Total, 486.

In 1876 the Democratic majority was 95, the balloting being as follows:
Democratic — first ward, 87 ; second ward, 103 ; third ward, 166 ; fourth ward, 194.
Total, 550. Republican — first ward, 100 ; second ward, 120 ; third ward, 141 ;
fourth ward, 94. Total, 455. Peter Cooper and General Carey, the " Green-
back" candidates, received none. This last vote, 1005, would indicate a popula-
tion of 5000.

On the reception of. the news of the assassination of President Lincoln the
common council passed strong condemnatory resolutions, expressing utter detes-
tation for the crime and criminals.

During the war for the Union, Marshall was prompt in filling her quotas,
and offered large bounties to encourage enlistments. Her citizens responded at
the first call for troops, and sent a company composed largely of residents of the
city, who participated in the first Bull Run battle; one of her citizens being the
first Michigan man to fall in the war. Calvin Colegrove, color-bearer of the
gallant First Infantry of Michigan, Hubbard Crittenton, Buck, Dickey, and Corn-
stock, and others as brave, bore upon many bloody fields the name of Marshall
forward to distinguished honor, and gave to it imperishable fame.

We are under obligations to Hon. Charles T. Gorham, late United States min-
ister to the Hague, Hon. Charles P. Dibble, George S. Wright, Esq., James A.
Way, Esq., C. M. Brewer, Esq., Seth Lewis, Esq., and Morgan Bates, Esq. (for
files of the Statesman from 1839 to 1877), Z. H. Denison (for files of the Ex-
pounder), William R. McCall, Hon. Preston Mitchell, David Cunningham, Esq.,
city recorder, W. R. Lewis, Esq., assistant postmaster, and W. A. Coles, Esq., for
valuable information given and assistance rendered in the compilation of the his-
tory of Marshall city.

THE TOWNSHIP OF MARSHALL

LEGAL CONSTITUTION.

Originally the township included in its limits the entire territory of Cal-
houn County, and was a constituent of Kalamazoo county. It was so declared
to be by the legislative council of the Territory of Michigan, in 1832, but no
election was ever held under that law for a representation in the county board of
supervisors of Kalamazoo. The name was spelled "Marshal" then, but on its
reorganization, March 29, 1833, when it became one of the three constituent
townships of Calhoun County, organized at the same time, the name was spelled
Marshall, as at present, and the township was so named in honor of Hon. S. S.
Marshall, then chief-justice of the supreme bench of the United States. At
its reorganization, the township included townships numbered on the United States
public surveys 3 and 4, in ranges 4 and 5, and 1, 2, 3, and 4, in range 6 west. In
1834 Homer was organized, and included the first-named townships (3 and 4,
ranges 4 and 5). Tekonsha in 1836, Convis in 1837, and Fredonia in 1838
drew from the territory of Marshall townships 4, 1, and 3, range 6, respectively,
leaving it but a single surveyed township. In 1859 two miles square, including
sections 25 and 26, south half of sections 23 and 24, and north half of sections
35 and 36, were set off and included in the corporate limits of the city of Mar-
shall, leaving the township as it is at present constituted.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The township is a general level, and was originally covered with oak, white and
burr principally, being the " openings" of the country. The soil is a rich sandy
loam, fertile, and adapted to the growth of the cereals, fruits of all kinds common
to the country, and grazing. There is little or no waste land in the township, the
same being well drained by the Kalamazoo in its southern part, and lying high

and dry to the north. Rice creek, so called by the United States surveyors from
the wild rice found growing in it at the time the county was surveyed, comes into
the township within the limits of Marshall city, and forms a junction with the
Kalamazoo on section 25. The name of the latter river in the original Indian
tongue, from whence it was derived, is Ki-ka-la-ma-xoo, and signifies the mirage
river.

THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS

in the township as at present limited were as follows : Mr. Fuller, who came to
the county in 1830, built the first house erected in the county, about three miles
north of the Marshall village site, on seminary lands, an account of which is given
at length in the county history. This house subsequently passed into Samuel
Camp's hands, who removed it to lands adjoining the seminary lands, and sold the
same, with the land, to John Bertram, who came with the family of Thomas
Burland, who kept house and boarded Bertram in this house during the winter
of 1831-32, and until the latter built his frame house on his location during the
summer of 1832, and which, too, was the first framed house in the county. Mr.
Bertram also built the first barn erected in the county, — a framed one. Thomas
Knight came to the township in 1832, and still resides in the county. Stephen
Kimball came in 1831, and located south of the river. Henry Failing came in
1832, and located outside of the present city limits, on the north. Daniel Wool-
sey and B. F. Curtis were early comers to the township. Knight and Woolsey
are still living in the township, and Mr. Failing is living in Homer.

Besides those already named the following were among the early settlers of the
township of Marshall : Cyrus Hubbard, who is now deceased. His widow still
resides on the old homestead. Allen G. Miner came from Connecticut, and
located in the township in 1835 or 1836, and died on his farm in 1861. His
wife also is now deceased. Freeman Hotchkiss located on section 4 in 1836,
and still resides thereon. Isaac Lockwood located on section 16, and is now
deceased. James Connolly, George W. and Joseph Bentley, all present residents
of the township, were early comers. Mathew Hasbrouck and D. H. Godfrey,
the latter now the owner of the Bertram homestead, and George Barber, now of
Cold water, were also among the pioneers. J. Kellcher also came before 1840,
and now owns eight hundred acres in a body.

The first farms were opened by John Bertram and Stephen Kimball, in 1832,
and crops of wheat and corn raised.

The first improved live-stock introduced were Saxon sheep, in 1837-38, by
John D. Pierce, horned cattle coming as late as 1850, of any moment.

Improved farm machinery was introduced in the shape of fanning-mills in 1836,
into the township, and were of home manufacture, being made by Colonel Dickey.
Reapers were introduced after 1844 ; and separator-thrashers, about that year.
Plows began to be improved as soon as the breaking-up plows had prepared the
way for a lighter and better article.

The first frame house, as before stated, was erected by John Bertram, on the
farm now owned by Godfrey, in 1832, during the spring or early summer. When
the first brick house was erected in the township, outside of Marshall city, we have
not definitely ascertained.

The first road laid through the township was the Territorial road, so called,
leading from the Chicago and Detroit highway, the great military road of the
Territory, near Ypsilanti, through Calhoun County to the mouth of the St. Joseph
river, laid out and surveyed previous to 1831.

The first bridge built over the Kalamazoo in the township was erected in 1832,
in the village of Marshall, at what is now sometimes called Perrinville ; George
Ketchum being the architect, and Dr. Hays master-builder.

The first school in the township was taught in the village also, and is particu-
larly described in the history of the city. The statistics of 1876 will be found
in the general history of the county.

The history of the church is so intimately connected with the city of Marshall
that we must also refer the reader to the history of the city for the interesting-
record. No church edifice has ever been erected in the township outside of the
city and the village of Ceresco. A Methodist class was organized at North Mar-
shall some years ago, and is still in existence.

The North Marshall Lodge, No. 509, 1. O. G. T., was organized prior to 1865,
and is still in a flourishing condition. It has had a large membership for several
years, and exerts a beneficial influence in the northern part of the township and
South Eckford. Thomas W. Huggert is the secretary of the lodge. Thomas
Templeton, R. H. Woolsey, and Perry Mayo are leading members of the organi-
zation.

The first stage line operated through the township was that of Samuel Camp,
from Jackson to Marshall, in 1833, Zenas Tillotson succeeding to Camp. A more
extensive line was afterwards established from Detroit to Chicago, shortening up
its eastern length as the railroad progressed westward. In 1836, W. R. Thomp-
son, of Ann Arbor, stocked the road from Detroit to Jackson, and from Kalamazoo

70

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

to St. Joseph. Dr. J. H. Montgomery and Montgomery Schuyler owned and
stocked the line from Jackson to Marshall, and Dr. James P. Greeves stocked and
operated it from Marshall to Kalamazoo. The business proving a losing invest-
ment to Dr. Greeves, he sold his interest to Zenas Tillotson, who, with others, kept
the line in operation till the railroad reached Marshall, in 1844. Grain, for horse-
feed, was one dollar and seventy-five cents and two dollars per bushel for a year.

CIVIL ORGANIZATION.

The first town-meeting was held in Marshall at the school-house, in the village,
April 1, 1833. Andrew L. Hays was moderator, and Ellsworth Burnett clerk.
Henry Cook was elected supervisor ; Marvin Preston, town clerk ; Samuel Camp,
Ellsworth Burnett, Robert McCully, assessors ; Andrew L. Hays, constable and
collector; Sidney Ketchum, poor-master; John Kennedy, J. E. Crary, Stephen
Kimball, road commissioners ; Asa Bushnell, A. B. Cook, Ebenezer Harris, school
commissioners ; Thomas J. Hurlbut, treasurer ; Samuel Hudler, path-master ;
Milton Barney, Solon Davis, Sol. Allen, school inspectors ; John G. Beam, pound-
master ; Wm. Brown, Stephen Kimball, and Barnes Kennedy, fence-viewers. At
this meeting one dollar bounty was offered for wolf-scalps, and four hundred dollars
were appropriated for roads. The first road laid out by town authority was on
June 6, 1833, and commenced ten chains north of quarter section stake, between
sections 35 and 36, township 3, range 5 west, and ran thence south and east to the
Jonesville road on section 6, township 4, south range 4, M. Preston surveyor.
There were sixteen roads laid out that year. At the July election, 1833, for dele-
gate to Congress there were nineteen votes polled, — eleven for Lucius Lyon, five
for Austin E. Wing, and three for William Woodbridge. W. H. Welch, E. B.
Sherman, and Calvin Brittain were candidates for the Territorial council. The
board of health, on the 17th of September, 1839, declared the mill-ponds of Sibley
and Mann, on the Kalamazoo, and Halsey and Comstock, on Bice creek, nuisances,
and ordered them abated.

The following-named gentlemen have filled the office of supervisor since the
organization of the township to the present time : Henry Cook, 1833 ; Henry J.
Phelps, 1834-37, 1843-44; Ira Tillotson, 1838-42, 1847; Marvin Preston,
1845 ; Joseph C. Frink, 1846 ; Isaac E, Crary, 1848, 1850, 1853 ; S. S. Alcott,
1849 ; James A. Hahn, 1851 ; Horace A. Noyes, 1852 ; George C. Gibbs, 1854-
55; Robert Huston, 1856-57; Preston Mitchell, 1858; George H. Barber,
1859-60; Daniel Woolsey, 1861-68; David R. Smiley, 1869; Selah Stout,
1870 ; Wm. F. Hewitt, 1871-73 ; John R. Stage, 1874 ; William Conley, 1875
-76 ; Augustus F. Allen, 1877.

The office of town clerk has been filled as follows : Marvin Preston, 1833-34 ;
James P. Greeves, 1835 ; James M. Parsons. 1836, 1840 ; Cyrus Hewitt, 1837 ;
Charles Dickey, 1838 ; C. M. Brewer, 1839 ; W. A. Sweet, 1841-44 ; Charles
A. Barton, 1845-46 ; W. R. McCall, 1847-48 ; John B. White, 1849-53 ;
George G. Lay, 1854; Elias Hewitt, 1855, 1857-58; John J. Bardwell, 1856 ;
J. Phelps Beach, 1859-64; Jonas M. Rice, 1865-67 ; Henry Lockwood, 1868-
72 ; John R. Stage, 1873 ; Charles S. Hamilton, 1874 ; George C. Bradley, 1875 ;
George S. Woolsey, 1876-77.

The office of justice of the peace has been held as follows : Isaac E. Crary, for the
county, appointed by the governor, 1832-36 ; Benjamin Dwinnel, 1833-36 ; Calvin
Smith, 1832-1836 ; Marvin Preston, four years ; Henry J. Phelps, seven years ;
David Aldrich, two years ; Jacob King, one year, — these last four were elected in
1836, the first justices elected, — Henry Hewitt, 1837-45 ; D. L. Johns, 1838-
42; John P. Greeves, 1840-44; F. W. Shearman, 1842-49; Randall Hobart,
1842-48; Joseph Chedsey, 1843-47; Joseph B. Cook, 1844-48; Lucius G.
Noyes, 1847-59; James M. Parsons, 1848-52; Joseph C. Frink, 1849-57;
George C. Gibbs, 1849-54; Walter Martin, Sr., 1854-58; Amos Hewitt, 1854
-60 ; Martin D. Strong, 1857-59 ; Isaac W. Wilder, 1858 ; W. F. Hewitt, 1859
-63; Benjamin F. Woolvine, 1859-62 ; Wyman Clark, 1859 ; Thomas Huggett,
1859-60 ; Jacob E. Wormley, 1860-64, 1868-72 ; Aaron Preston, Jr., 1862-
66 ; W. N. Keeler, 1863-67 ; Samuel P. Wormley, 1864 ; D. H. Godfrey, 1864-
73; Freeman Hotchkiss, 1866-74; Alvin Hosmer, 1870-74, 1876; John C.
Duel, 1874-77 ; Joel March, 1875 ; Corwin Tefft, 1877 ; Peter Lockwood, 1877.

BRANDS AND MARKS.

Sidney Ketchum cut off the end of the right ear of his cattle, to distinguish
them from his neighbors', in the pioneer days, and Charles D. Smith cropped the
left ear, slit the right. George Ketchum put a hole through the right ear. Sands
McCamley put a swallow-fork in each ear, but the addition was a subtraction.
Peter Chisholm had a round hole in the left ear, and John Bertram put holes
through both ears.

POPULATION.

In 1860 the population of the township outside of the city was returned at
993 souls. In 1870 there were 984 persons returned, and in 1874 there was a

still further decrease, apparently ; the State returns show but 953 individuals,
500 of whom were males and 453 were females. Among the males over twenty-
one years 180 were of the military age, and 108 were beyond the reach of a draft for
war purposes. Of 276 females over eighteen years old 152 were under forty years,
and 124 were over that age. The married and single bore the following relation
to each other numerically: 189 males were or had been married who were over
twenty-one years of age, and 81 were single and ever had been ; 185 of the
females over eighteen years were or had been wedded, and 58 of their sisters
of the same age were enjoying single-blessedness.

THE POLITICAL SENTIMENTS

of the people since the setting off of the city of Marshall has been Republican
largely, as will be seen by the following exhibit of the votes polled at the Presi-
dential elections : In 1860 the Republicans cast 158 votes, and the Democratic
poll was 433. In 1864 the same parties cast 139 and 90 votes respectively. In
1868 the vote stood 159 Republican to 101 Democratic, and in 1872 the same
vote was 117 and 80 respectively. In 1876 the balance vibrated to the Demo-
cratic side, that party polling 139 and the Republicans 121, the " Greenbackers"
having a single supporter.

THE ASSESSMENT OF 1876

of property for revenue of the year of 1876-77 was fixed by the board of super-
visors as follows : on real estate, $358,885 ; personal property, $52,450 ; total,
$411,335. On this valuation the following taxes were levied: State taxes,
$1370.43; county taxes, $2432.73 ; school taxes, $1526.46 ; township general
expenses, $406.28 ; mill tax, $738.84 ; other taxes, $57.95 ; total, $6532.69.

CROP STATISTICS.

The State census of 1874 makes the following exhibit of the productions of
the harvest of 1873, the latest information obtainable in this regard. There were
4202 acres of wheat on the ground in the spring of that year. There were 3675
acres of that grain harvested in 1873, which produced 55,746 bushels, and 1543
acres of corn produced 88,706 bushels the same season. There were besides, of
other grain harvested, 20,040 bushels, 14,160 bushels of potatoes, 1291 tons of hay,
23,423 pounds of wool, and 120,674 pounds of pork ; 500 pounds of cheese,
54,804 pounds of butter marketed, and 645 barrels of cider sold ; 19,257 bushels
of apples, 572 bushels of pears, small fruits, berries, and 7339 bushels of vege-
tables marketed, valued at $6825. In 1874 there were owned in the township
448 horses over one year, 13 mules, 12 oxen, 467 cows, 367 head of other neat
cattle, 620 swine, and 4146 sheep. The wool clip of 1873 was taken from 4282
animals.

THE TAXABLE LANDS

in the township amount to 19,705 acres, about 14,000 of which are improved, 71
acres are exempt from taxation, valued with the improvements thereon at $13,000.
This acreage so exempt is included in school sites, burying-grounds, and railroad
right of way and depot grounds. In 1874 there were 177 farms in the township,
averaging 111.33 acres each.

The manufacturing interests of the township are confined to the village of
Ceresco.

The contrast between the pioneer days and those of the present is marked and
surprising. Less than forty-six years have elapsed since the pioneer's axe first
resounded through the heavy oak openings of the township, requiring prolonged
and heavy toil to fit the ground for the production of food for the tillers of the
soil, and now the whole landscape is covered with finely-cultivated farms, capa-
cious barns, and elegant homes. The log house has given place to the frame and
brick mansion, built substantially and luxuriously, bespeaking the ease and afflu-
ence of the occupants, who are, in many instances, the ones who first began the
foundation of their present pleasant places. No better illustration of the general
prosperity of the farmers of the township need be asked for than that which a
day's drive among their fine farms will supply. Intelligent and thrifty, like their
compeers in the sister towns of the grand county of Calhoun, the farmers of
Marshall wield no small influence in shaping the career of the county towards a
still more laudable and brilliant triumph than has already been gained, and the
future is bright with promise of good yet to come.

THE VILLAGE OF CERESCO.

The beginning of this village dates from the erection of a saw-mill on the Kal-
amazoo at this point, on or near the west line of the west half of the northwest
quarter section 30, township 2, south range 6, in 1838, by a man named Munson.
In 1839, John D. Pierce, Jos. Frink, and S. S. Alcott built a flouring-mill
here, costing .thirty thousand dollars, and laid out a village, naming it Ceresco,
from Ceres, the goddess of harvests. What the signification of the terminal syl-

■'M

%

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

71

lable was is not easy to determine, unless to signify a copartnership with the god-
dess and the millers,— she to furnish the raw material, and they to prepare it for
use. The mill was built of stone, but fell down (as did most of the first stone
buildings in the county), and was rebuilt by Benj. Wright, in 1854, for Chas. T.
Gorham, and was burned. It was rebuilt in 1869 by a Mr. King for E. Morse
& Co., and was again burned down. In 1876 it was again rebuilt, by Isaac
Bisbee, for H. J. Perrin, who now operates it. It has seven run of stone, with
a capacity of forty-four thousand barrels of flour per annum. The other manu-
factures of the village are wagon- and carriage-making by B. McLeod, who also
manufactures harrows, and has been thus engaged for six years. He does a
business of about fifteen hundred dollars per annum. Mr. Tefft owns and
operates a saw-mill which was built by Aaron Preston in 1857. He runs
one upright and one circular saw, and can turn out two hundred and fifty thou-
sand feet of lumber per annum. He also runs a turning-lathe in connection with
his sawing business. C. A. Tefft operates a cider-mill, which in 1876 manufac-
tured two hundred and fifty barrels of cider. It was built in 1873 by William
Adams, and contains two presses run by water-power. Mr. Tefft also deals in
lumber and agricultural implements. The water-power is the best in the vicinity
on the Kalamazoo. The other business of the village is comprised in three black-
smith-shops, two boot- and shoe-stores, two stores of general merchandise, one
drug-store, one milliner, one cooper, and one hotel, and the station of the
Michigan Central railroad.

THE SCHOOL

was first taught here in 1845, and became a free school under the Union system
in September, 1871. The main or central school-house was erected in 1860, there
being two buildings, the seating capacity of both being one hundred and twenty
sittings. The houses are valued at fifteen hundred dollars. Two teachers are
employed, J. C. Duel being the present principal. One hundred and two scholars
reside in the district, and the school is taught ten months in each year. The dis-
trict has a bonded indebtedness outstanding of six hundred dollars. The present
school board is composed as follows : B. McLeod, director ; J. M. Weed, mod-
erator ; Kobert Gould, assessor.

The first religious services were held here by the Baptist society, in 1854, and
the same year

THE BAPTIST CHURCH OF CERESCO

was formed, by Elder L. H. Moore, of Marshall, in a school-house. This was the
first organized church society in the village. Among the first members of the
church were the following-named persons : B. W. Gould and wife, Andrew Kin-
caid (deacon), wife, and daughter, Thomas Treat and wife, Denton Mott and wife,
Losina A. Gould, Mrs. J. Newbre, Josiah Hurd, wife, and daughter, L. D.
Palmer and wife, S. T. Palmer and wife, Mr. C. H. Alexander (deacon) and wife,
George Barber. There were twenty-two members in all who first formed the
society. A house of worship was built in the spring of 1858, — and dedicated in
1859, — which was a frame building. The most noted accession of members, at
any one time, was under the ministry of Bev. L. D. Palmer, when twenty-six
persons united with the church. The following pastors have been over the flock
in Ceresco, in the order named: Bevs. L. H. Moore, L. D. Palmer, E. O'Brian,

J. Fletcher, E. S. Dunham, S. P. Town, Mr. Potter, E. H. Hamlin, M. Hayden,
and J. W. Parkhurst. The present membership of the church numbers some
seventy-eight communicants. A Sunday-school has been in successful operation
since the organization of the church, which numbers at the present time one
hundred and twenty members. The officers are Abram Duel, superindendent ;
Lida Graham, librarian ; Edward Mott, treasurer. The church was rebuilt in
1866, and is thirty by fifty-two feet on the ground.

THE FREDONIA AND CERESCO CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

was organized April, 1866, and for a time held their meetings in the school-house,
the first pastor being Bev. Mr. Strong. The present society was organized in
1870, by Bev. H. A. Beed, of Marshall. The present church edifice was erected
in 1871, and dedicated in November of the same year. It is a frame building
about forty by sixty feet, will seat about three hundred persons, and cost about
thirty-five hundred dollars. The ministers of the society have been Mr. Elmer,
H. A. Beed, Mr. Bordwell, and the present pastor, Bev. D. A. Strong.

THE EVANGELICAL (GERMAN) CHURCH

was organized as a class in 1865, with eight members, and as a church in 1874,
with about thirty members, at which time the present church edifice was erected,
which is a frame building thirty by forty-four feet, and cost about seventeen hun-
dred dollars. The pastors of this society have been as follows : Bev. Messrs. Ude,
M. J. Miller, J. W. Loose, and the present pastor, L. Kemmerling. A Sunday-
school was formed at the organization of the church, which numbers forty-five
members at the present time. Its officers are Franklin Bender, superintendent ;
Sarah Metzger, treasurer ; Lizzie Bell, secretary.

Ceresco Lodge, No. 252, I. 0. O.F., was instituted by Grand Master G. W.
Gregg, January 29, 1875, with the following officers : B. McLoud, N. G. ; John
C. Duel, Y. G. ; G. A. Kelley, B. S. ; C. H. Baven, F. S. ; David H. Godfrey,
Treas. The present membership is thirty-six. The lodge is engaged in building
a hall for their use, at the present twenty-two by fifty by twenty-four feet, to
cost fifteen hundred dollars. The present officers are J. M. Weed, N. G. ; D. H.
Godfrey, V. G. ; J. C. Duel, B. S. ; William Smith, F. S. ; B. McLoud, Treas.

THE POST-OFFICE

was first established at Ceresco in January, 1844, Winslow S. Hale first post-
master, the mail being supplied from Marshall. The following-named gentlemen

succeeded Mr. Hale: Charles Hinkle, L. Wallingford, Aaron Preston, Mr.

Baker, L. L. Lewis, L. W. Kendall, and the present incumbent, C. H. Baven.
The money-order office was established July 7, 1873. The gross receipts amount to
about five hundred dollars per annum. About six hundred papers are distributed
weekly, one hundred letters dispatched and received daily, three hundred dollars'
worth of stamps and stamped envelopes sold annually, and about fifty registered
letters received and dispatched quarterly.

The present population of the village is about three hundred. The Ceresco
mills have always had a good reputation from the beginning, and have always
done a large business. The village lies partly in Marshall and partly in Marengo
township.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

HON. CHARLES DICKEY.

Among the citizens of Calhoun County, none are more prominently or favor-
ably known than is Hon. Charles Dickey, the present judge of probate of the
county. Coming from the sterling stock of the Scotch colony in the north of
Ireland, — from Argyleshire, in Scotland (1612), — the subject of our sketch pos-
sesses the same traits of sturdy manliness and integrity that distinguished his
forefathers amid the bloom of the heather and the tassels of the broom. His
father was a direct descendant of one of the colonists of Londonderry, New
Hampshire, who emigrated thither in 1719, from Londonderry, Ireland. For
many years the father, John Dickey, followed the business of a merchant in
Londonderry, New Hampshire, being also the agent of the Londonderry linen
manufacturers, who for several years continued the manufacture of that article
in New Hampshire. Charles Dickey was born in Londonderry, New Hampshire,
April 3, 1813, his mother, Rhoda (Yarnum) Dickey, being a native of Dracut
(now Lowell), Massachusetts. When he was about four years old his parents
removed to Livingston county, New York, where he resided until he was of the
age of seventeen years, attending the schools of the district winters, and working
on the farm the remainder of the year. He attended during the last three winters
the Moscow Academy, under the instruction of Rev. John Walker; and at
graduating received the first prize on essays, " Hawes' Lectures to Young Men,"
valued at about a dime. At the age of seventeen he engaged as salesman with
Messrs. Patterson & Dickey, manufacturers of farming-mills in Livingston county,
and continued therein until 1832, at which time, in company with two brothers,
he engaged in the manufacture of the same implement in Yienna, Ontario county,
New York, and remained so engaged during the years 1832-35, the latter year
in Penn Yan, Yates county. On the first day of March, 1836, he bade fare-
well to his father and family in Livingston county, and turned his face and steps
towards Marshall, Michigan, where he arrived on the 27th day of that month,
and at once made arrangements, as he himself puts it, " to raise the wind by the
manufacture of the same line of implements, — fanning-mills," in which business
he continued until 1861, doing an extensive and widely-scattered trade through-
out southern Michigan. He also engaged in wool-buying for eastern parties,
and bought in 1838 the first of that staple ever sold for money in the counties
of Calhoun, Branch, Kalamazoo, Jackson, Eaton, and Barry. The purchases
were all carted on wagons to Ypsilanti, and were less than has been bought for
72

several years past in several towns in either of those counties in a single day. He
was also engaged in farming during the same time. Mr., or, as he is commonly
called by his acquaintances, Colonel, Dickey was in the days of his youth a
stanch Whig partisan, and for years was the standing candidate of that party
for the office of sheriff. In 1840 he was beaten by a bare majority of three
votes, and that too by " tricks that are vain," but peculiar to the crafty politician.
In 1844 he was elected, although there was a heavy Democratic majority for the
balance of the county officers. He was the only Whig elected then, and the first
one ever elected in the county to a county office. In 1846 he was re-elected by
an increased majority. He served subsequently from 1849 to 1853 in the State
senate of Michigan, during four regular and one special session of the legisla-
ture, the latter being held to adapt the laws of the State to the new constitution
of 1850. In 1858 he was elected to the lower house of the State legislature,
and during the session of 1859 acted as speaker, pro tem., for several weeks pend-
ing the illness of Speaker H. A. Shaw. He was also chairman of the committee
on Ways and Means of the House. He was among the first to organize the
County and State Agricultural Society, was one of the first presidents of the
county society, and has been one of the executive committee of the State
society since its organization in 1845 to the present time, and acting president
of the same in 1858-59.

In April, 1861, he was appointed United States marshal for the district of
Michigan, by President Lincoln, and during his term the State was divided into two
districts, Calhoun afterwards being a portion of the eastern one. At the close of his
first term of four years he was re-appointed by President Lincoln, but was removed
by President Johnson, by reason of his failing to " swing around the circle" with
that president. At Mr. Lincoln's first and second inauguration Colonel Dickey
was one of the president's body-guard of marshals, and at the dedication of the
soldiers' cemetery at Gettysburg was in charge of the division of the procession
of the governors of the different States present. The judge loves to linger over
that occasion, when he heard the president utter the most famous speech of his
life, and which, for conciseness and comprehensiveness, has never been equaled by
an American statesman. In 1873 Colonel Dickey was appointed by Governor
Bagley judge of probate of Calhoun County, to fill the vacancy caused by the
death of Hon. Eden F. Henderson ; and in November, 1876, the people elected

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

73

him as his own successor for a term of four years, which he is now filling, with
satisfaction to all who come before him, as far as it is possible to satisfy conflicting
and opposing interests. In 1867 he was interested with Messrs. Frink, Brewer,
and Ingersoll, in the erection of Eagle block, one of the finest brick buildings in
the city of Marshall. In October, 1836, he was commissioned by Governor
Stevens as captain of militia, and charged with the enrollment of all persons sub-
ject to military duty under the laws of the State at that time in Calhoun County,
and in perfecting the military organization of the county and district was com-
missioned lieutenant-colonel under Colonel Loren Maynard. He was afterwards
appointed governor's aid, with the rank of colonel, by Governor J. Wright Gordon.

On the 6th day of September, 1836, Judge Dickey was united in marriage to
Mary Ann, daughter of Joseph and Sylvia Wakeman, who was born in Columbia
county, New York, and died in Marshall, of consumption, December 26, 1852,
leaving five children, four sons and one daughter, three of the sons still surviving :
Charles T., who is now in Racine, Wisconsin ; Franklin W., a resident of Mar-
shall; and Harrison N., a citizen of Chicago, Illinois. Gilbert A., the other son,
was killed in command of his company in the Twenty-fourth Michigan Infantry,
at the battle of Gettysburg ; Frank W. was promoted from the ranks to the posi-
tion of major of the Second Cavalry. In March, 1854, Judge Dickey married
Mary Elizabeth Moss, the widow of Chester Moss, a leading merchant and banker,
of Albion, Michigan, who died in Sandusky, Ohio. She lived but a year, and
again the judge was companionless. She left no living child. In May, 1857,
Judge Dickey, to light up his desolate and lonely home, brought to it another
mistress, as his wife, in the person of Mary Jane Pratt, a native of Orleans
county, New York, who, at the time of her marriage, resigned her situation as the
assistant principal of the Phipps Union Female Seminary, at Albion, New York,
having under her charge as such assistant the French, German, and graduating
classes of the institution. A period of little more than eight years of domestic
happiness quickly fled, and death, which had been a frequent and unbidden guest
at the judge's fireside, again invaded its precincts, and called hence Mrs. Dickey,
in July, 1864 (she dying of bilious colic). She left three daughters, who still
survive, and are members of the harmonious household in the old homestead in
Marshall city. They are as follows, viz. : Mary E., Helen L., and Jennie C.
After mourning his loss more than two years, Judge Dickey again brought a
companion to his lonely home, Mrs. Angeline G. Moore, the widow of Rev. Ly-
man H. Moore, late of Marshall, she being a native of Greenwich, Rhode Island.
One child has blessed this last union, Ross Wilkins, a bright, active lad of ten
years. Mrs. Dickey also has two sons by her former husband, who are members
of her present household : Lewis C. and Asahel B. Moore.

Judge Dickey's parents were Scotch Presbyterians, and he was early indoctri-
nated from the Westminster catechism, but he has never united with the church.
He is rather liberal in his views, and takes the line of a good life for his rule of
action. Mrs. Dickey, the three daughters, and one son, are members of the Pres-
byterian church of Marshall.

Among her family Mrs. Dickey moves, winning from all their love and confi-
dence, showing no difference in her care and affection for those of her own blood
or for those who look to her as a mother, who stands in the place of those who
have been before her. Happy in her disposition, she holds the bands that bind
the household together with love and harmony with a gentle grasp, shedding a
fragrance of affection upon all who give back to her their confidence and esteem.

Of the judge himself, little need be said more than is already shown by the
sketch we have given. The frequency with which he has been called to oflieial
positions, by the people of Calhoun and State of Michigan, testifies in stronger
language than any we can use as to the confidence his fellow-citizens repose in
his ability and integrity. Affable, courteous, and kindly dispositioned, he has won
the admiration of his neighbors ; and, by the prompt, efficient, and faithful dis-
charge of his oflieial duties, he has gained their best confidence and trust. His
old pioneer friends, among whom he is an ever-welcome guest, at all of their
'gatherings delight to do him honor, and he delights to serve them. Of him it
shall be said by and by, when the inevitable change shall come, " He served his
people well."

It is with a great deal of pleasure that we present to our readers the portrait
of Judge Dickey, which adorns the preceding page.

BENJAMIN F. CURTIS.

Among the substantial farmers of Calhoun County Benjamin F. Curtis, of
Marshall township, is justly accorded a place. He was born in Newcastle, New
Hampshire, September 26, 1808, and in early life engaged in mercantile business,
10

but in 1835 turned his steps westward, and in the grand old parks of Calhoun
selected a location, to which he brought his family the year following, and turned
his attention to the tilling of the soil, transforming his oak-forest covered lands, after
many hardships and privations, into one of the finest farms of Marshall township.
He built a small frame house at first, which he and his family occupied until 1849,
at which time he erected the present elegant and substantial dwelling of "cobble"
stone on the old homestead.

On the 10th day of September, 1833, Mr. Curtis was united in marriage to
Mary Tredick, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, by whom were born to him the
following-named children : Margaret A., Martha T., Onas F., and Joshua W., all
of whom are now living except Martha, who died July 4, 1870. Mr. Curtis also
passed to his rest January 1, 1869, leaving his fine estate of three hundred and
sixty acres to be divided between his widow and three surviving children, the .
former and the daughter occupying the homestead proper as their portion. Mr. ;
Curtis was highly esteemed by those who had the pleasure of his acquaintance,
by whom his loss was sincerely mourned and regretted.

CHARLES P. DIBBLE.

A busy mercantile life, beginning in 1832, and spanning a lapse of forty-five
years, must needs have been checkered with many vexations and attendant losses,
though in the main pleasant and prosperous. Such a career has embraced within
the arc of its circle the disastrous crash of 1837, its scarcely less ruinous suc-
cessor, of 1857, and ,the great depression of 1873-76, as well as the corresponding
prosperous eras intervening between those noted years of mercantile and business
prostration. Such a life has been that of Charles P. Dibble, who, for many years
prior to the spring of 1877, was the oldest merchant, in point of continuous trade,
in the State of Michigan. He was born in Skaneateles, Onondaga county, New
York, August 28, 1815, where he resided until fourteen years old, with his pa-
rents, Philo and Susan (Lawson) Dibble, natives of Massachusetts and New York,
respectively. He was educated at the district and select schools and the Homer
academy. When fourteen years of age he left home and entered a store as a
clerk f where he remained three years, and then began business for himself, first in
the firm of his father and a partner, in Kelloggsville, for about a year, when the
partner retired, and Charles managed the business alone for another twelve months,
at the end of which he closed out the same, and came west to Marshall in the
fall of 1835 and bought property, after looking about the country, going as far
west as Chicago. In the spring of 1836 he brought in a stock of goods and
began trading, which line of business he steadily followed, successfully in the
main, until the spring of 1877, when he retired therefrom on account of ill health,
surrendering the business to his son, Charles A. Dibble, who now conducts it.

Mr. Dibble was married, September 14, 1842, to Miss Hettie Johnson, daughter
of Benj. and Jane (Dey) Johnson, natives of New Hampshire and New Jersey,
but who were then living at Ithaca, New York, where Mrs. Dibble was born. The
fruits of this happy union have been — Charles A., now a leading and prosperous
merchant of Marshall, and successor to his father's extensive trade ; Ben Johnson,
deceased ; Emily, now Mrs. Bostwick, of Ithaca, New York ; Eveline, at home with
her parents ; William, now of Ithaca ; Louisa, now deceased ; and Henry and
Walter, at home in Marshall. The present most elegant and charming homestead
of Mr. Dibble (of which we present a view on another page of our work) was
erected by him in 1859, on the site of the original location of Sidney Ketchum,
who built his residence thereon in 1838. The grounds comprise one-half or more
of an entire square ; and, shaded by the old trees of the original oak openings, it
is a most lovely and inviting -spot at any time, more especially in its full summer
foliage and beauty, when it outranks for loveliness and charm any other homestead
in the beautiful city, replete though it is with elegant residences and well-kept
lawns.

In his political affiliations Mr. Dibble is a Republican, having been formerly a
Whig partisan. He has been the treasurer of almost every association formed in
the city and county, and also of the township and corporation, and for twenty
years served the Agricultural Society of Calhoun County in that position, or
that of president, continuously. He was elected the first mayor of the city of
Marshall, in 1859, and was treasurer of the Marshall and Bellevue Plank Road
Company, and also of the Coldwater, Mansfield, and Mackinac railroad. In
everything pertaining to the advancement and prosperity of Marshall he has been
deeply interested, and has been largely instrumental in placing the city in its pres-
ent commanding position among the interior cities of the State. Mr. and Mrs.
Dibble are members of the Episcopal church of Marshall, and have been for several
years past.

74

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

DAVID H. MILLER.

DAVID H. MILLER

The subject of our sketch comes of a long line of ancestry of the family names
of either side of his house. His father, David Miller, was of Scotch-Irish descent,
from the north of Ireland, whose father adhered to his government and fought
against the rebellion, and was killed in the army, his property confiscated, and a
family of ten children scattered and thrown penniless upon the world, to rely solely
upon their own resources for their maintenance. David Miller, the father, learned
the trade of a tailor, enlisted and served in the " whisky rebellion," and in the
pursuit of his occupation found and married Mehitable Horton, in the State of
New Jersey, where David Horton Miller was born, in Morris county, December
30, 1799. His mother's ancestors came from England in an early era of the
settlement of America, and settled in Southhold, Long Island, in 1640, as the
Horton genealogy shows. They embarked in the Revolution, and helped to es-
tablish American independence. His maternal grandfather was a pensioner of
that war. Mr. Miller's parents emigrated to Cayuga county, in the State of New
York, in 1804, then almost a wilderness, and settled on a wild tract of land, and
his father's name is mentioned in the history of that county as one of the pioneer
settlers thereof. He — David H. — says his first recollection of a school-house is
of one that was built of hewed and split basswood logs, without a sawed board in
either roof, floor, or desk, and situate a half-mile, through dense forest, from the
nearest inhabitant, and how greatly alarmed were the teacher and children at the
occurrence of the total eclipse of the sun in 1806. David H. Miller received
his education at the common schools in this new country, working on the farm
summers, and attending school winters, until nineteen years of age, when he began
to teach school for an occupation, and pursued this vocation for nine or ten years.
At about the age of twenty-four years he was married to Polly Carrier, and began
the business of farming, which has been his main occupation through life. In
the year 1837 he emigrated with his family, consisting of his wife and two
children, a daughter and a son, to Michigan, and settled on a wild tract of land
in Sheridan township, Calhoun County, again undergoing the privations of pioneer
life, being mainly occupied in clearing up and improving a new farm for about
twenty years, but in the mean time doing a large amount of land-surveying, having
been county surveyor four years. He also served his township almost constantly in
some of the various township omces, such as assessor, supervisor, and justice of the
peace, the most of which omces he had also filled in New York. At the age of
nearly sixty years he retired from the farming business and purchased some lots,
and erected a comfortable and modest home thereon in the city of Marshall, where
he prepared to spend the remainder of his days, and where he at present resides
at the ripe age of seventy-eight years. He was regularly ordained as a minister
of the gospel, of the Methodist persuasion, and preached whenever occasion
oifered, without pecuniary compensation, until his voice failed and he felt com-
pelled to cease public speaking.

Mrs. Miller was the daughter of Amaziah Carrier, who also was a pioneer in
western New York, and settled on wild, unimproved land, and by dint of hard
labor succeeded in making a good and valuable farm, and died from the epidemic
which prevailed in 1815. She was born in 1802, nurtured in a farm life, educated
at the country schools, and taught some few terms before her marriage, and in

MRS. DAVID H. MILLER.

more mature life was widely known and much appreciated as a nurse and midwife,
and by the bedside of the sick administered comfort, in which she found much
pleasure and made herself extremely useful. And now these worthy pioneers
and life-long companions, whose wedded life is nearing a point bounded by nearly
threescore years, are still journeying together near the confines of the eternal
rest, whose gates shall open ere long to receive them into heavenly mansions
prepared from of old.

CHAUNCEY M. BREWER.

The oldest merchant in point of continuous trade in the city of Marshall is
Chauncey M. Brewer, his business life therein dating from June, 1836, and the
lapse of forty-one years still finding him busy with the best-kept ledger in the
State. He was born in Oneonta, Otsego county, New York, October 11, 1814,
where he resided with his parents, Peter and Emma (Marble) Brewer, natives of
New York and Massachusetts respectively, until the death of his father, which
occurred when he was but nine years of age. For three years longer the lad con-
tinued to reside on the old homestead with his mother and five brothers and sisters
four younger than himself, and attending the district school during the winters of
each year. On the 1st day of March, 1827, he began his business education in
a country store, with one Jacob Deitz, remaining in a little village where the same
was located, with Deitz and his successors, until November 1, 1835, when, being
at his majority, he came west to seek a location, but with no particular point in
view, St. Louis, however, having a preference in his mind. He stopped in Len-
awee county, Michigan, the winter of 1835-36, engaged in a store, and, in the
spring of the latter year, in company with Charles T. Gorham, per arrangement
made between them prior to Mr. Brewer's departure from Oneonta, he traveled
over the southern and western portion of Michigan for a few weeks, but found no
place that suited their joint ideas so well as Marshall, then a small but promising
village, and consequently they formed a business connection and opened a mer-
cantile trade in that place in June, 1836, which continued until 1840, when Mr.
Gorham withdrew and engaged in banking, Dusenbury and Butler coming into
the business, which partnership was dissolved in 1845, since which time* Mr.
Brewer has managed his constantly increasing business interests alone. His sons,
Charles D. and Edgar G., now conduct the mercantile trade exclusively, while Mr.
Brewer looks after his other financial interests and investments, which are exceed-
ingly extensive.

Mr. Brewer was married in October, 1840, to Emily L., daughter of Samuel
and Tamar (Brush) Butler, natives of New York and Connecticut respectively.
Mrs. Brewer was born in Deposit, Delaware county, New York, in February, 1819.
The children of this marriage have been George and Emma, who died in infancy ;
Mary Eliza, now Mrs. Wheeler, who resides in the beautiful homestead of her
parents in Marshall; Charles D. and Edgar G., leading merchants in Marshall;
and Mark B., now at home with his parents.

The present elegant mansion of Mr. Brewer, of which we present our readers

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

75

a view on another page of our work, was erected by him in 1858. In polities
Mr. Brewer is a Democrat. He has filled various offices in the gift of the people
of his township and city, all of which, it is needless to add, were unsolicited and
unsought by himself. He has been intimately connected with the rise, progress,
and prosperity of Marshall for more than forty years, and closely identified with
its material interests, and is, in himself, an illustrious example of the success that
attends close attention to business and the judicious management thereof.

JAMES A. MINER.

Among the rising members of the Calhoun bar James Alvin Miner stands in
the front rank. Thrown at an early age upon his own resources, by industry,
close application, and economy he has won his way to a prominent position before
the courts of the county and State, where his constantly-increasing practice as a
lawyer brings him in competition with others of his profession older and more ex-
perienced. He was born in Marshall township, Calhoun County, September 9,
1842, and at the common schools of the township and city obtained his education,
and assisted his father on the farm, to which the latter, Allen GL Miner, and his
wife, Betsey L. Latham, both natives of Connecticut, came in 1835-36, and on
which both of these pioneers died. At the age of seventeen years James A. left
home to attend school at Lyons, Ionia county, Michigan, dependent upon his
own resources. For eighteen months he attended the school, working nights and
mornings outside of school hours to pay his way, thereby gaining not only an in-
dependence of spirit and self-reliance, but acquiring also a good physique and
consequent increased mental vigor. After closing his school term he went to
Clinton, Iowa, and read law nine months in the office of G-overnor Baker, of that
State, when, the rebellion breaking out, he returned to Lyons and assisted to raise
a company of volunteers for service in the Ninth Michigan Infantry, and with the
company went to Detroit, where, while in camp, and just before being ordered to
the field, the news came to him of his father's death, and that his presence was
needed at home, upon which he resigned his position in the regiment and returned
to Marshall, and entered the law-office of J. C. Fitzgerald, where he recommenced
his legal studies, and continued them with Mr. Fitzgerald, Judge H. A. Noyes,
and „L. Gr. Noyes until the spring of 1873, when he was admitted to the bar in
the circuit court of Calhoun County, and began the practice of law, which he has
since continued, having his office in Marshall city. In the spring of 1864 he was
elected city recorder of Marshall, and in the fall of 1866 he was elected one of the
circuit court commissioners of the county, and held the position four years, at the
close of which term he was elected prosecuting attorney, and also held that po-
sition two terms of two years each. He has been for some years also the United
States commissioner for the federal courts of the eastern district of Michigan, and
still occupies the position. Two years ago he formed a law partnership with F.
A. Stace, Esq., which still continues, and has a fine and constantly-increasing
practice.

Mr. Miner is a Republican in politics, and always has been since he attained

his majority. On the 16th of September, 1859, he was united in marriage with
Miss Hattie L. Baker. Two children have blessed this union, Mabel L. and
Hattie Eliza.

Mr. Miner is an attendant on the services of the Episcopal church of Marshall,
of which Mrs. Miner is a communicant.

ASA B. COOK.

Among the noted and prominent citizens of Calhoun, none are more widely
known, or more highly esteemed for their works' sake, within the limits of the
county, than is Asa Briggs Cook, the subject of our present sketch. An enter-
prising, energetic, enthusiastic man, he made his power felt in the community,
and always in the right direction. Intent upon the building up of the county,
and more particularly Marshall, to which he came in 1832, he was foremost in
every good work that gave promise of prosperity and advancement to the village
and its inhabitants, sparing neither time, talents, energy, or money in the accom-
plishment of his purposes to that end. He was born in Jay, Essex county, New
York, May 30, 1809. His parents, Samuel and Nancy (Brown) Cook, were
natives of Massachusetts, but removed to Vermont, and subsequently to New
York, in 1808. Mr. Cook resided in Jay until 1826, when he went to Keesville
and learned the wagon-maker's trade, and from thence, in October, 1832, removed
to Calhoun County, Michigan, locating in the village of Marshall, then but a
small hamlet of log cabins, and began business in the spring of 1833, when he
made the first wagon built in Calhoun County, and sold it to S. Campbell, who
drove it as a stage on the road between Marshall and Jackson the same year.
His shop was near the mills on Rice creek. He followed this business one and a
half years, and then, in company with Sidney Ketchum and Arza C. Robinson,
built the first stone flouring-mill in the county, and which also was the first mer-
chant mill erected therein, in 1837, on the Kalamazoo river, in what is now known
as Perrinville. The company operated the mill until 1842, when they sold it,
and Mr. Cook some two years afterwards engaged in mercantile business, and con-
tinued therein about twenty-seven years, renting and operating the mill one and a
half years, in 1843-44, when he gave his interest to his son Joseph, who, in
company with his cousins, continued the business until 1875. Mr.. Cook is at
present residing on his farm, adjoining the city, of one hundred and twenty acres,
which he bought twenty-five years ago, and which, with all his other and various
interests unneglected, he has brought from a state of nature to its present excel-
lent condition and state of improvement, a view of which may be seen on another
page. He was married, February 25, 1830, to Jerusha P. Beach, a daughter of
Ahira Beach, of Jay, New York, who came to Calhoun County in 1837, and set-
tled in Pennfield township, where he died. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have had born
to them thirteen children, — seven sons and six daughters, — of whom five are now
living, viz. : Asa Brown Cook, the oldest son, now in Erie, Pennsylvania, and a
graduate of Dartmouth College, published the Erie Dispatch for a time, and is
now engaged in manufacturing ; Joseph, in the mercantile line, in San Jose, Cali-
fornia; Almeda, now at home; Eliza, now Mrs. H. S. Babcock, of Iowa; and
Katharine, now at home. Mrs. Cook died August 19, 1867.

Politically, Mr. Cook was originally a Whig, and is now a Republican, having
joined that party at the organization of the same. He served one term in the
State legislature of Michigan, in the years 1857-58, but has had no inclination for
further official honors.

AUGUSTUS 0. HYDE.

Among the prominent merchants and leading citizens of the city of Marshall
we find Augustus O. Hyde is justly placed. Coming to Marshall when it was
but a small village, and casting in his fortunes with it, he has seen it steadily rise
to a city of over five thousand inhabitants, with more than one hundred business
houses and manufactures ; with schools and church privileges second to no city
of even twice its size in the State. Connected as he has been with all of these
enterprises from the beginning, it is with a commendable pride that he looks upon
the progress and advancement of the city of which he has been a resident for
nearly forty years. Mr. Hyde comes of full-blooded Yankee stock, his father,
Ebby Hyde, being a native of glorious old Berkshire, Massachusetts, and his
mother, Betsey (Osborn) Hyde, of Lebanon, Connecticut. His grandfather,
Caleb Hyde, emigrated from Berkshire to Broome county, New York, in an early

76

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

day, and bought a large tract of land therein, which was divided among three or
four sons, whose descendants gave to the portion of the township wherein they
settled the name of Hyde settlement ; and, though death has been busy among
them, and emigration has taken its full quota from their midst, yet the township
is still largely peopled by the Hyde family and their relatives.

The subject of this sketch, Augustus 0. Hyde, was born in the town of Lisle,
Broome county, New York, June 1, 1816, where he resided, with his parents,
until he was fourteen years of age, when the family removed to Virgil, Cortland
county, New York, where the youth resided for two years longer, having obtained
in Broome and Cortland a good common-school education. At sixteen years of
age he went to Ithaca, and entered the drug-store of Schuyler, where he remained
four years, and thence to Elmira, into the drug-store of John Slover, for three
years longer. In 1838 the young man came to Marshall, Michigan, seeking em-
ployment, but, not finding it, engaged for some eight or nine months on the rail-
road then in process of construction between Ann Arbor and Jackson. He then
returned to New York for a few months, and came back to Marshall in 1839, and
engaged in a grocery-store for a short time, at the end of which he bought the
stock out, and converted it into a drug-store, on the identical spot he now occupies,
making the transfer in 1840. Except a partnership with H. N. Joy, from 1858
to 1865, he has been mostly engaged alone in the druggist line of trade from
1840 to the present, continuously. In 1863 his store was burned out, but his
trade was not thereby interrupted, except for a very brief period ; he gathered up
the remnant of his stock saved from destruction, and added a new stock at once,
and, in 1865, built his present fine brick store in State street. In connection with
his druggist's trade, Mr. Hyde has been an extensive wool-buyer, in the season,
for many years ; in fact, nearly ever since there was any of that staple offered for
sale in Calhoun County. He also deals largely in furs, and has been so engaged
for twenty-five years past.

Mr. Hyde is a sterling member of the Republican party, and was an enthusi-
astic Whig in the days of that grand old organization. He has been the alderman
of his ward for several years, at the end of which term of service, in 1869-70,
he was elected mayor of the city. He has been for seven years past a member of
the school-board of the city, and for three years past the director of the board.
In 1868, he was elected one of the county superintendents of the poor, by the
board of supervisors, and still holds the position, having been re-elected twice for
a term of three years each. Associated with him are Judge T. W. Hall, of Bat-
tle Creek, who has been on the board of superintendents ten years, and E. H.
Johnson, who has been a member of the same board fourteen years, — eleven years
continuously. In this responsible and delicate position these gentlemen have won
the admiration and commendation of the people of the county. The disburse-
ments, which in 1850, at the time of building the almshouse, covered a few
hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of dollars, now aggregate the magnificent sum of
over twenty-three thousand dollars, every penny of which is expended under the
careful scrutiny of these gentlemen. Their firmness must be equal to their
humanity, and their discernment, in order to detect imposture, as keen as their
sympathies for real misfortune are lively ; and the best proof of their fitness for
the position is their continued re-election for successive terms to the same.

On the 1st day of June, 1841, Mr. Hyde was united in marriage to Miss Al-
mira Downs, daughter of Lemuel L. and Harriet (Joy) Downs, natives of Con-
necticut and Vermont respectively. The children of this marriage are as follows :
James Downs Hyde, born December 19, 1843 ; Frederick Augustus, born July
16, 1849 ; Mary Wallingford, born February 1, 1855 ; William Lemuel, born
May 9, 1857 ; and Harry Joy, born June 24, 1860.

Mr. Hyde's religious inclinations are towards the tenets of the Presbyterian
church, his family, and both sides of his house, having been stanch members of
that church. Mrs. Hyde is a member of the Presbyterian church of Marshall,
of several years' standing.

EARL SMITH.

Mr. Earl Smith was born in the township of Union, Branch county, Michigan,
on the day of reverential memory, February 22, in the year 1839. His father,
Gideon, and mother, Betsy (Olds), Smith, were natives of New York State. In
1836 they removed to Branch county, Michigan, and took up their residence on
a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in the township of Union. Here Earl
was born. His life to his majority was spent much as was that of boys of that
period, in attending the district schools and assisting on the farm. He attended
a select school for a while, which finished his education by such means. He re-
mained with his father until he was twenty-four years of age, and then went away

from the old homestead, having, on the 20th of February, 1862, taken to him-
self a wife, Miss Sarah A. Adams, daughter of William and Mehitable (Bucking-
ham) Adams, natives of New York. Mrs. Smith was born in Burlington town-
ship, July 31, 1841, her parents being among the first settlers in that township.

In 1863, Mr. Smith removed to Burlington, where he now owns a fine farm of
two hundred and sixty acres, which lies partly in the village corporation of Bur-
lington. He sold goods in Burlington village for a number of years, and was
division treasurer of the construction fund of the Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake
Michigan railroad, which was graded through the township and village.

Two children have gladdened the homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, — Elbie,
born November 22, 1863, and Isola, born July 3, 1871.

Politically, Mr. Smith has always been a firm Republican. His first vote for
president was cast for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Three times his township
chose him for the office of clerk. In 1872 he was elected to the office of county
treasurer of Calhoun County, which position he now occupies, having entered
upon his third consecutive term. January 1, 1877, Mr. Smith's popularity was
amply attested by his re-election to the important and responsible position of cus-
todian of the public funds continuously. He was nominated by acclamation for
his second and third terms, each time receiving a majority which was more
complimentary than the preceding ones.

SAMUEL J. BURPEE.

Among the earlier settlers of the city of Marshall was Samuel Stanford Burpee,
the father of the subject of the present sketch. He was born in Templeton,
Massachusetts, in the year 1801, and married Mary Ann Cummings, who was a
native of Royalston, Massachusetts, and emigrated to Michigan in 1835, where,
in the city of Marshall, he opened the first tinner's shop in Calhoun County, to
which he subsequently added a hardware stock. On the 25th day of June, 1837,
Samuel J. Burpee was born, the only child of the above-named marriage ; Samuel
S. Burpee also being an only child of his parents. Samuel J. resided at home,
attending the public schools from and after a suitable age, until fourteen years old,
when he was apprenticed to the tinners' trade, which avocation he followed in his
father's employ until he attained his majority, at which period he entered the
establishment of his father as a partner, and continued a member of the firm
until the death of the elder Burpee, on the 31st day of December, 1864, since
which time he has conducted the business alone. The firm built the present fine
brick store occupied by Mr. Burpee, No. 110 State street, in 1861. Mrs. Burpee,
the mother, resides on the same lot occupied also by her son, and is now aged
sixty-five years. In political affiliations the senior Burpee was formerly a radical
anti-slavery Whig, and was a member of the Republican party after it rose until
his death. Samuel J. Burpee is a radical Republican, and always has been, and
by his zeal and liberality has done much effective work for the cause the party
advocates and has advocated. From 1868 to 1872, both years inclusive, he held
the position of alderman of the second ward of the city. In 1873 he was elected
mayor of the city, and in January, 1874, he was appointed postmaster of
Marshall, which position he still holds. While alderman, and chairman of the
Committee on the Fire Department, he recommended the adoption of the present
artesian water system, and, so confident was he of its successful utilization, he
procured the sinking of the first well upon his own responsibility. The hopes of
the chairman being realized fully, the council at once adopted the system, and
named the first well in honor of Mr. Burpee. While occupying the mayoralty,
he also secured the opening of the old court-house square as a public park, the
desires of many being to have it converted into lots and extend the street through
it. The wisdom of the mayor is now acknowledged by all of the citizens in
securing so beautiful a spot in the centre of the city for a park. Mr. Burpee has
also been for twenty-two consecutive years a member of the fire department of
the city. He is at the present time the president of the Marshall Boat-Club, and
by his whole-souled liberality and genial good-fellowship has done much, and is
continually doing more, to make the club a success and a credit to the city.

On the 30th day of August, 1856, Mr. Burpee was married to Mary Elizabeth,
daughter of John and Eliza Ann (Vansicklen) Van Blarcon, then of Girard,
Branch county, Michigan, but natives of Delaware county, New York, and New
York City respectively. Mrs. Burpee was born in Delaware county also, December
8, 1836, her parents emigrating to Branch county, Michigan, in 1837-38. The
only child of this marriage is Ada Aurora, who was born January 7, 1862.

In all things of a public nature pertaining to the advantage of the city of
Marshall and its people Mr. Burpee is liberal and enterprising; and being of an
affable, courteous, and genial nature, he is per consequence a popular and rather
prime favorite among all classes of the citizens of the city and county.

EARL SMITH.

(^S^^CZZ^f'

SAMUEL J. BURPEE.

^^

[Photographs by S. B. Smith, Marshall.]

i

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

77

SAMUEL W. HILL.

To the studious observer of her works, Nature, in her visible forms, speaks with
eloquence unrivaled. To him her dictum is authoritative, explicit, and infallible.
To him she presents charms unapproachable by art, and, as her worshiper, his
homage is exalted, reverential, and full of pathos. Her economic treasures, buried
deep within her bosom, richly repay his most careful research, and most patient,
persistent, and laborious investigation. Of the life and work of such an observer,
worshiper, and investigator the present sketch is a brief outline. Samuel Worth
Hill was born in Starksboro, Addison county, Vermont, November 6, 1815. His
father, Richard, and mother, Betsey Hill, were natives of New Hampshire, the
father removing to Vermont with his parents when but seven years of age, where,
after his marriage, about 1813-14, he purchased a farm in Starksboro, on which
he still resides, at the advanced age of nearly ninety years, with the wife of his
youth, about eighty-three years of age, and where they have passed over sixty-four
years of wedded life together. On this homestead, in the shadow of the Green
mountains, the youth of Mr. Hill was passed. He attended the district schools
of his township — excellent then and more excellent now — until he was sixteen
years of age, showing a love for and adaptation to mathematics which soon placed
him beyond the capacity of his teacher's acquirements, and at that age he attended
the Friends' school, and at once began the study of the higher mathematics, pay-
ing his own way by teaching school winters, and graduating at the end of two
years in engineering and surveying. He continued to teach winters and work
upon his father's farm a portion of the summers until he had attained his majority,
in the mean time, however, procuring instruments and practically using his attain-
ments in surveying in his native State. In 1839 he came as far west as Albion,
in the State of New York, where he remained several months with an uncle, and
from thence went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he arrived in October, 1839,
and taught school the winter of 1839-40. He engaged, in the spring of the
latter year, in the United States public land surveys, for the season, at the end of
which he entered the corps of topographical engineers of the United States Army,
who were engaged in the survey of the harbors of the lakes, and engineering on
the internal improvements of the government in the then Territory of Wisconsin.
In this service he was engaged until the spring of 1845, being one season associated
with Lieutenant, afterwards General, J. D. Webster, of the United States Army,
and lately deceased, in the hydrographic survey of the great lakes, then just begun.
In 1845 he went to Lake Superior, and was associated with Dr. Houghton in
the geological and lineal survey of the upper peninsula, he being detailed in
charge of a party on the geological examination of the mining region, and the
survey thereof. The winter of 1845-46 he spent in Detroit, drawing maps of
his surveys and work, and in the season of 1846 completed Dr. Houghton's con-
tract with the government, left uncompleted by reason of the doctor's untimely
death. He remained in the Lake Superior country, pursuing his profession and
investigating the metalliferous deposits of that region, until 1848, during which
year and the following one he was associated with Foster and Whitney in the
geologic survey of the mineral region, in the employ of the general government,
to which they reported of their labors, recommending the sale of the mineral
lands to settlers at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, the usual price of the
public domain, these lands having been previously held at five dollars per acre.
The government adopted the recommendation, and from this action dates the real
development and settlement of the upper peninsula. Mr. Hill then turned his
attention to mining copper, managing the interests of extensive and heavy cor-
porations of eastern capitalists, and directing the active business of the develop-
ment of their claims. He spent seventeen winters there, continuously, in which
time, it is perfectly safe and just to say, he expended more money for the progress
and settlement of the county, by reason of the immense works he initiated and
brought to successful operation, than any other four men in that region. His
disbursements for his clients ran from one-half million to one million dollars per
annum, all made under his own direction. He made, in 1873, a general geologic
survey of Isle Royal, which parties whom he represented were interested in, and
extensive mines are now being opened and worked thereon. He has seen the first
log cabin built and the first ton of copper and of iron mined in the upper penin-
sula, which Michigan gained in exchange for the swamps of the Maumee ; and
during the period that has elapsed since his first attempt at development of the
mining interest — less than thirty years — there has been shipped from that region
alone copper to the value of $109,312,000, and iron to the value of $74,553,000,
to the various parts of the world. Where, twenty-five years ago, the rude cabin
of the Cornishman alone was the habitation of the white men of that region,
now are found cities of stone and brick structures second to none in the older
portions of the country. Schools and churches are the rule where once, and but
a short time since, they were not known. Where once the Mound-builder mined
the bright copper with wedge, stone hammer, and chisel, building his fires against

the rock, and casting water thereon to loosen and break up its texture, mines,
eighteen hundred feet in depth, now hold in their recesses machinery, ponderous
and costly, covering, in some instances, over $1,000,000 in value. And all this
grand development, progress, and source of wealth Mr. Hill has been person-
ally instrumental in largely producing. He is still engaged in the country in
directing mining operations and managing extensive landed interests, spending his
summers there and his winters in the city of Marshall.

On the 16th day of July, 1851, he was united in marriage to an estimable
lady, a teacher in the public schools of the upper peninsula, whither she went, in
company with others, when the cry for education was sent down from that country
to southern Michigan. Her name was Susan A. Warren, a daughter of Alanson
B. and Phebe Warren, formerly of Genesee county, New York, but now residing,
at an advanced age, in Calhoun County. She was born in the village of Arcade,-
in Genesee county, before named, October 15, 1821.

Mr. Hill is ardently Eepublican in his political sentiments, and has filled the
various positions in the organization of the civil government of the mining region
of Lake Superior in township and county, and also served his district three terms
in the State legislature. These positions were filled by him not from choice or
solicitation, but because the people found him the best fitted therefor, the best
interests of the country being at stake. He is, and has been for the past twenty-
two years, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
and is also a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. Foster, in
his " Pre-Historic Races," alludes to his archaeological discoveries in the mining
region, in several noted instances. He is also a member of the Historical Society
of the Upper Peninsula. As may be readily supposed, Mr. Hill's intimate rela-
tions with the revelations of Nature in her secret recesses have somewhat shaken
his faith in the theological idea of the earth and its formation and duration, and
hence he is a bold, fearless, and advanced thinker on theology, in which senti-
ments he finds a keen and intelligent sympathizer in his worthy helpmeet.

HON. PRESTON MITCHELL.

Among the prominent citizens of Calhoun County, Hon. Preston Mitchell
takes his proper place. Stirring, energetic, and enterprising, he has wielded an
influence in the county second to none of the worthy citizens thereof, by whom
he has been preferred to places of honor and trust for twenty-four years of public
life, receiving their suffrages or indorsement, as the case might be, and finding
among his bitterest political opponents some of his warmest friends. From 1840
to 1876, Mr. Mitchell has filled official stations, without personal solicitation, in
the township, county, city, and State, crowning his long public career with the
important and honorable position of presidential elector of the grand common-
wealth of Michigan, in 1876, on the Republican ticket, when men of nerve, tried
patriotism, and sterling and unimpeachable integrity, were needed to resist seduc-
tive influences the closeness of the contest rendered possible. Mr. Mitchell
comes of the right stock to be unapproachable by such influences, for his ancestry
were from the heather-crowned hills of bonnie Scotland, from whence they emi-
grated to Yorkshire, England, where they resided for three generations, Lieutenant
Matthew Mitchell — Preston Mitchell's great-grandfather — being born there in
1590. He was a dissenting churchman, and possessed of considerable fortune,
but, by reason of the persecutions of the Established Church, was forced to flee
with his family, as were many others, from his native country ; and, on the 23d
of May, 1635, he, in company with several sympathizers, set sail from Bristol in
the ship " James," and arrived in Boston on the 17th of August following.
From that time until the close of the year 1638 he lost heavily by fires and the
depredations of the Indians, by which his property was destroyed and a son-in-
law murdered by the latter, when he removed to Stamford, in the colony of New
Haven, where he died in 1645. He left two sons, Jonathan and David, the
former graduating from Harvard College in 1647, and preaching at Cambridge
for eighteen years thereafter. David settled in Stratford, and is the immediate
ancestor of David, the father of the subject of our sketch, who was born in South-
berry, Connecticut, July 2, 1776, two days before the announcement of the
declaration of American independence.

The grandfather of Preston bought a large tract of land in Delaware county,
New York, and divided it between his three sons, on which they lived, adding
largely to the original purchase until their death. Here, on this tract of laud, in
the town of Meredith, on the 24th day of April, 1812, amid the alarms of war,
was Preston Mitchell born, the fourth child in a family of five sons and four
daughters, to David and Sarah (Dibble) Mitchell, the latter a sister of the late P.
Dibble, of Marshall city, Calhoun County. Preston's early education was mostly

18

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

such as could be obtained at the district schools of the country in those days, and
at the age of sixteen years he taught school one year and the year succeeding.

At the age of nineteen he engaged one year as a clerk in a store in Syracuse,
at the end of which time he entered the academy in that place, where he re-
mained one year. From that time until the summer of 1836 he was engaged in
mercantile business in Syracuse and Baldwinsville, Onondaga county, New York,
coming west to Marshall in July of the latter year, where, for a year or more, he
was engaged as clerk in the store of his cousin, C. P. Dibble. But there was an
attraction in the eastern home that could not be resisted, and the young man re-
turned to redeem his plighted troth, which he did by marrying Sarah H., daughter
of Captain Joseph Tyler, formerly of Greenfield, Massachusetts, on the 28th of
August, 1837. Immediately afterward he engaged in mercantile trade in Syra-
cuse for about a year, when he disposed of his stock, and bought another in New
York city, and shipped it to Jackson, Michigan, but, on arriving at that place, he
found no satisfactory opening, and came on to Marengo, Calhoun County, where he
conducted a flourishing business for the next five years. Here his public life began,
and he served successively as constable, school inspector, and justice of the peace.

In 1843 the state of his wife's health became alarming, and he closed out his
business preparatory to seeking a milder climate ; but a favorable change setting
in, she rapidly improved, and he removed to Marshall, where he re-entered his
cousin's service, in which he continued until 1849, when, without previous notice
or solicitation on his part, he was nominated to the office of county treasurer, and
elected; and re-elected in 1851, holding the position four years. The next two
years he acted as deputy register of deeds, and from 1856-58 held the position of
county treasurer again. In 1859 he was elected alderman of the city of Marshall
for two years, at the end of which term he was called to the mayoralty of the city.
In 1858-59 he was the supervisor of the township. On the 17th of September,
1862, he was appointed assistant United States assessor of revenue, which position
he held for six years. In 1870 he was elected representative to the State legis-
lature, and re-elected in 1872. In 1876 he was nominated by the State conven-
tion as one of the eleven presidential electors on the Republican ticket, and was
elected. Mr. Mitchell's continued preferment is the best testimony of his fitness
for the positions to which he has successively been elected, and the surest token
of the people's confidence and regard.

In the summer of 1869, Mr. Mitchell made a trip to Nebraska, where he
bought some four thousand acres of very fine farming lands in the eastern part of
the State ; and the summer following, while on a trip to California, he bought
some three thousand acres more, all of which he now owns. Ever since he came
to Michigan he has been largely engaged in real-estate transactions, and, having
made many fortunate and happy investments, is at present possessed of a large
amount of property in the city and county. He owns the " Abstracts of Titles to
Real Estate in Calhoun County," — a most complete exhibit of the title to every tract
and village lot therein. He gives to his private business the same close and prac-
tical application that he ever has to the public business intrusted to his care, and
consequently is reaping the reward which ever follows such a course.

Until the year 1849, Mr. Mitchell afliliated with the Democratic party, but the
pro-slavery tendencies of the party became too strong for him, and he left his old
associates, and upon the organization of the Republican party cast in his fortunes
politically with that organization, and has been a stanch and leading partisan
thereof to the present time.

His wife died, without issue, January 20, 1849 ; and on the 15th of January,
1851, he was united in marriage to Mary, daughter of Samuel Thomas, who has
borne to him five children, three daughters and two sons, as follows : Sara E.,
born February 4, 1852 ; Carrie M., born June 22, 1854 ; Thomas P., born May
20, 1856 ; Frank D., born May 30, 1860 ; Grace E., born October 23, 1863. All
are now living save Thomas P., who died in his youth. Sara E. is married, and
is now Mrs. Charles E. Gill, of Chicago.

HON. WILLIAM POWELL.

Among the prominent citizens of the city of Marshall, William Powell, the
subject of the present sketch, is accorded by his fellow-citizens a place. He was
born in Victor, Ontario county, New York, March 31, 1830, his parents, John
and Docia (Boughton) Powell, being natives of the same State. His mother was
of the original family of settlers of Victor. Mr. Powell resided in Victor until
he was twenty years of age, during which time he attended the common schools
of that place. When twenty years old he entered a large dry-goods store in
Rochester, New York, as salesman, and pursued a preparatory course of study
nights and mornings, reciting to the tutors of the Rochester university, with the
intention of passing through that institution. At his first examination he evinced
that degree of proficiency requisite to entering the sophomore class. He pursued
this course of business and study combined for one year, at the end of which he
secured the position of librarian of the Rochester Athenseum and Mechanics'
Association, a public library and reading-room, where he remained two and a half
years, in the mean time continuing his studies with diligence. But an incident
common to young mankind changed his purposes, and led him, perhaps, into a
different line of life's history on March 18, 1853, at which date he was united
in marriage to Martha L. Paddock. She was the daughter of John Paddock, of
Rochester. On his marriage he accepted a position offered him as discount clerk
in the Rochester city bank, where he remained seven years. In the fail of 1859
he came to Marshall, Michigan, and with a brother engaged in the grocery busi-
ness for a few months only, disposing of his interest to his brother in the spring
of 1860, and engaging in the bank of H. J. Perrin & Co. as cashier, where he
remained six years, at which date, on account of the ill health of his wife, he
removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he engaged in a general insurance agency
with a Mr. Etheridge for two years, after which he accepted the local agency of
the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York for a time, until the death of
his wife, when he went to Detroit, where the general northwestern agency of the
company was located, and engaged as a special traveling agent through the six
northwestern States for one year for the same, and then for another year was
located in Chicago as the general agent of the Widows' and Orphans' Benefit Life
Insurance Company, New York. Following this agency, he was engaged with H.
J. Perrin as his agent for the sale of the products of his machine-shop and flour-
ing-mills, being established at New Haven, Connecticut, in the latter line, and also
at Providence, Rhode Island, for more than a year. In the spring of 1872 he
returned to Marshall and re-entered his former position of cashier of the National
Bank of Michigan, of which, and the Bank of Michigan which preceded it, he
was the first cashier. He still occupies the position. Mr. Powell is a stanch,
unyielding Republican in politics, and was elected mayor of the city of Marshall
in 1876 by the largest majority ever before given to a Republican candidate, and
this, too, with the most popular candidate of the opposite party pitted against
him.

Mrs. Powell died in St. Paul in 1868, leaving a daughter, Kate Inez, who still
adorns the cosy home of her father in the city of Marshall. Mr. Powell subse-
quently married Anna Moeschler, who was of Saxon parentage, but survived her
wedding-day scarcely a year. His present wife was Sarah Francis Bacon.

Mr. Powell and his wife and daughter are members of the Church of the Re-
deemer, of Chicago (Universalist).

He has been for the past four years the Worshipful Master of St. Albans lodge,
No. 20, F. A. M., and for three years of the time was also Eminent Commander
of Marshall commandery, No. 17, K. T., and is the Prelate of that body now,
and also High-Priest of Lafayette Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M. He was also chair-
man of the committee on finance of the Masonic grand lodge of Michigan for
two years during the same period.

THE CITY OF BATTLE CREEK

The history of the early settlement and of the subsequent progress and develop-
ment of the city of Battle Creek, presents features at once wonderful and interest-
ing. A retrospection of less than half a century would carry us beyond the time
when the first white settler had trodden upon its site,*to the time when it consti-
tuted part of a dreary wilderness, ere civilization had penetrated its solitary
bosom, or the voice of the pioneer had echoed amid its timbered shades. In the
year of our Lord 1831 the first attempt at settlement was made. That it was
successful, was owing to the dauntless and persevering energy of the first pioneers,
for it was no enviable task to clear the forest and to undergo the hardships incident
to genuine pioneer life. But it was during this year that

"His echoing axe the settler swung, amid the sealike solitude,
And rushing, thundering down, were flung the Titans of the wood."

But ere we proceed to narrate the incidents of the early settlement, it were well to
give the historic signification of the name of the river after which the city was called.

" It appears that during the survey of this section of the State, under the direc-
tion of Colonel Mullet, in the winter of 1823-24, the Indians had become some-
what jealous of the encroachments made by the whites on their sugar-camps ;
and as the surveyors ran their lines through the maple-groves, they interrupted
their work by various devices, and particularly by placing themselves between the
surveying party and their l sight tree.' Annoyed by their persistent attempts,
Colonel Mullet on one occasion raised his l Jacob's staff ' (the iron standard upon
which the surveyor placed his compass), with the apparent purpose of running it
through one of the savages, but a Frenchman belonging to his party interposed
and prevented the act. About this time the event occurred that gave name
to the stream, and finally to the city built at its juncture with the Kalamazoo.
While the entire surveying party were engaged in the performance of their duties
in the woods, two men — Taylor, the cook, and Edwin Baldwin — having been left
at the camp, were attacked by two Indians of large size and great strength, evi-
dently with the intention of robbing them of their provisions, and thus interrupting
the survey. Taylor was slight-built, but muscular, while Baldwin was of herculean
frame and possessed of remarkable physical power ; and the two were pitted with
their assailants, man against man, at first in a sort of scuifle, but which shortly
became a very serious fight. The Indian engaged with Baldwin, seeing himself
likely to become overpowered, caught up a rifle (Colonel Mullet's), which stood in
the cabin, and fired it at his foe, without injury, however, to the person of Mr. B.,
but making a hole in the blanket coat he wore. The rifle soon changed hands,
the white man wresting it from his antagonist, and knocking him down with it
and breaking his skull. Taylor, meanwhile, had thrown his Indian upon the
ground, and being nearly exhausted by the exertion of holding him, called upon his
victorious comrade for aid, who soon made the remaining savage hors du combat by
a blow with the rifle. This took place in the afternoon, and when the rest of the
party returned at night and found that a fight had occurred, with serious and
probably fatal results to at least one of the red men, they thought it to be the wiser
course to return to Detroit until satisfactory arrangements could be made with the
wily and now exasperated enemy. They did so ; and the difficulty having been
adjusted by G-eneral Cass, the Indians repairing to Detroit for that purpose, the
survey was resumed the following June.

" A twin brother of Baldwin returned with the party in the latter expedition,
and was closely watched and pursued by an Indian somewhat emaciated, whose
head had evidently been submitted to the rude surgery of the wild inhabitants of
the forest, having been trepanned with leather, an evidence that his skull had
previously received a crushing blow. This was supposed to be the antagonist of
Baldwin. Taylor settled in St. Joseph county, afterward kept tavern, and was
the first sheriff of that county. Colonel Mullet was one of the United States
commissioners who located the lands for the University of Michigan. The above
facts are given on the authority of Mr. Andrew Morton, of Marshall, who learned
them from persons who served in the survey, and who also saw the coat which
had been pierced by the rifle-ball in the fight, of which a lasting monument will
exist to future generations in the name, ' Battle Creek.' "

We quote the subjoined from an article written by Mr. Erastus Hussey, a
gentleman who has resided in this State for half a century, and in Battle Creek
for about forty years :

" I don't like the English translation of the Indian name Waupokisco, which
an old Ottawa chief informed me means ' River of battle,' or l Biver of blood,' from
a great battle that was fought on its banks many generations ago, by hostile tribes.
This fact is confirmed by historical proof from Canadian Indians."

EARLY SETTLERS.

It was in the early part of June, 1831, that Sands McCamly,. in company with
George Redfield, visited the present site of the city, and being favorably im-
pressed with the eligibility and centrality of the location, determined to procure
an interest in it.. The land-office at White Pigeon was opened during the month
and all the land in this vicinity was put into the market at the usual government
price of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. On arriving at the land-office,
he found that he was not without rival contestants for the honor of planting a city
in the wilderness. It appears that J. J. G-arnsey had also fixed his attention on
this site, as also had Lucius Lyon and Robert Clark, government surveyors, who
had marked it in their list of desirable localities. The latter rivals waived their
right to bid against the others upon the receipt of one hundred dollars. It was
then agreed that J. J. Garnsey should enter eight hundred and thirty-seven and
forty-one one-hundredths acres, all lying in what now constitutes the township and
city of Battle Creek, the township of Emmett, and covered the confluence of the two
streams, but with the understanding that Judge McCamly and Daniel G. Garnsey
were each to share it equally with him upon payment of their proportion of the
cost. They, with their families, were to meet in Detroit the following October,
when the original purchaser was to quit-claim to the other two, and give them
each a title to an undivided third of the whole ; and it was agreed that they all
should come on and begin operations, each placing two thousand dollars in the
bank, as the means for commencing the development of an embryo city at the
mouth of Battle creek. McCamly reached Detroit at the time agreed upon, and
so did J. J. Garnsey and his brother-in-law, Sackett, and their wives ; but the
latter said they had been to look at the place, and could not live there. So from
the failure of the Garnseys these first plans fell to the ground. The principals in
the contract went their several ways — the original patentee to become financially
embarrassed and transfer his claim to Phineas P. Sackett and Ezekiel B. Garn-
sey, and McCamly and his family to a home in Nottawa prairie, where he had
entered land the previous summer. Meanwhile, the country hereabouts began to
receive settlers, particularly in Goguac prairie, where, during the year 1831, some
ten or more persons settled thereon, among them being Daniel, Jonathan, and
Isaac Thomas, who arrived in May; John Stewart, Sr., and John Stewart, Jr.,
his son, with Peter, Enoch, and Levi, and two daughters, all of the former's
family, arrived in August, Josiah Goddard and others, whose names and the in-
cidents of their settlement are given in the history proper of Battle Creek
township.

The year 1832 was more prolific in its accessions to the infant village. In
this year Samuel Convis,* who possessed an interest in the Garnsey purchase,
came in and erected his log house on the spot where Deacon Leggett's resi-
dence now is. He went east for the purpose of moving his family, preparatory
to making a permanent settlement here. During the same year Moses Hall
arrived, purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, but returned east, and
did not permanently settle until the following year, when he became a prominent
settler, of whom more anon. Polydore Hudson, who figured conspicuously as a
pioneer, arrived early in 1832. The Langley brothers, Roswell Crane, and John
Conway came in this year, but we believe none of them made a permanent settle-
ment here. We find the Langleys in South Battle Creek, John Conway in Bed-
ford, and Roswell Crane in Emmett, each as early as 1835.

In 1833, Nathaniel Barnly and family came in, and with them came the family
of General Ezra Convis. Nedebiah Angell also arrived this year. The year 1834
saw some accessions to the settlement. This year Judge Tolman W. Hall came
in, and has resided here ever since; General Convis also came this year, both
arriving in July. Warren B. Shepard and Dr. Asahel Beach (who settled in Em-
mett township, but has resided in Battle Creek for the past thirty years) came in

See sketch under head of Pennfield township, in biographical department.

79

80

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

during this year. Josiah Gilbert, Joseph Farnsworth, Deacon David Salter, and
others filled the complement for the year 1834.

SETTLERS OF 1835.

The year of our Lord 1835 was one of great moment to the embryo city, and
a much more promising prospect was presented in this than perhaps during any
year in its early history. Indeed, the commencement of actual development was
inaugurated this year, the result of which has left a beneficial impress on the
future growth and progress of the place. Foremost among the permanent arrivals
this year was Judge Sands McCamly* who, with characteristic enterprise, began
to utilize the excellent water-power which during the first four years of the settle-
ment had remained idle. After which he erected a saw-mill, the first in the
village.

William H. Coleman and David H. Daniels, the pioneer merchants, settled
here this year, as also did Captain John Marvin, the first blacksmith, Eli L. and
David Stillson (came this year but did not permanently settle until 1836), John
S. Van Brunt, A. P. Rawson (who married a daughter of Moses Hall, Esq., and
now resides in Victor, New York), John Meacham (who moved to Bedford and
resided there a short time, returning to the city and has since lived there, and for
many years was a justice of the peace). Ella G. and Cephas A. Smith took up
the eighty acres on a part of which Judge Graves' residence now stands. John
Champion, Ogden Green, and Anson Inman arrived in the winter of 1835-36.
Rev. Robert Adams came in June 7, 1835, and was the first Baptist minister in
the place. Three of his sons survive — Samuel, a merchant of Battle Creek, John
B., at Rockford, and William, at Grand Rapids, Michigan. Deacon Stephen W.
Leggett and James Conklin. Among those coming in 1836 were Samuel W.
and Gilbert W. McCamly, nephews of Sands McCamly, Alonzo Noble, now re-
siding in the city, Almon Whitcomb, Abraham, Joseph, and Isaac Merrett,
and Jonathan Hart, Leonard Starkweather, Edward Packer, Theron A. Chad-
wick, Deacon Fayette Cross, William Merrett. Among those settling in Battle
Creek between 1836 and 1840 were Erastus Hussey, W. M. Campbell, M.D.,
Edward Cox, M.D. (now the oldest medical practitioner in the city, Dr. Asahel
Beach not now being in practice), Charles S. Gray, A. L. Clark, Piatt Gilbert,
Henry Willis, E. C. Manchester, Henry B. Denmore, Leicester Buckly, John L.
Balcom, and others.

Among the early settlers of Battle Creek, whose enterprise entitles them to an
extended notice in its history, we might mention the following:

JUDGE SANDS M'CAMLY

came from Orleans county, New York, in June, 1831. Impelled by a desire to make
a successful venture in the new country to which he had come, he made extra exer-
tions to secure the present site of the city of Battle Creek, as before mentioned,
on account of its general eligibility, and because it contained a water-power equal
to any and excelled by none at any other place which he had previously visited.
Failing, however, to secure the coveted tract of land, he moved his steps to the
beautiful and fertile Nottawa prairie, where he and his family lived for about a
year, and in the summer of 1832 settled at Marshall. It would seem as though
the impression he had received of the site of the future city had been indelibly
stamped upon his memory, for he returned to it in 1835, and at once commenced
to utilize the fine natural advantages of the place. In February, 1834, Judge
McCamly bought an equal and undivided half of the original Garnsey purchase,
and removed on it in February, 1835, and began operations. General Con vis had
control of the other half, and it was agreed between them that Judge McCamly
have full possession of the whole water-power, provided that he would improve it.
A body of twenty-five or thirty men, including many sons of Erin, were engaged
in building the long race, which, in its day and under the circumstances, was a
monument of enterprise worthy the man who accomplished it.

Judge McCamly, on the admission of Michigan into the Union as a State, in
1835, was elected from this district a State senator. He possessed a strong and
clear intellect, a sound judgment, a resolute will, and much sagacity. He was a
good judge of men and things, and was inclined to view the sunny side of every-
thing. He possessed high social qualities, fine conversational powers, and was an
interesting raconteur. He left at his death, which occurred April 30, 1864, five
children : three daughters, Mrs. L. H. Stewart and Mrs. D. W. Burnham, of
Battle Creek, and Mrs. J. W. Oakley, of Chicago ; and two sons, George, now in
California, and Mark W., of Battle Creek.

GENERAL EZRA CONVIS

came from Silver Creek, Chautauqua county, New York, in company with Nede-
biah Angell, in 1832. He returned after a visit of a few months, and did not

* See personal sketch.

permanently locate here until July, 1834. He purchased a half-interest in the
site of the town from Garnsey, but retained it only lintil 1835, when he sold it
to Jonathan Hart and his three brothers-in-law, Abraham, Joseph, and Isaac
Merrett, and transferred his interest in the water-power to .Sands McCamly, as
above stated. He then turned his entire attention to the building up of a town
on his former purchase, north of Battle creek, the present village of Verona,
which place was for a few years the Bf^al of Battle Creek, under his admirable
energy and enterprise. However, the larger place procured the railway, and
Verona fell back to a mere settlement. General Convis was elected a member of
the lower house of the first State"" legislature, in 1835, and was made the first
speaker of that body. He was re-elected for a second term. In the winter of
1837-38, while returning from a wedding, his sleigh was upset, and he sustained
injuries which terminated his life. He died at Detroit in the spring of 1838,
his faithful wife remaining with him to close his eyes, and to attend the last sad
rites of his funeral.

Ezra Convis was a man whose strength lay chiefly in his general ability. He
was fond of society, courteous and genial, and of gentlemanly bearing. In his
business he was energetic and industrious. In person he was handsome, and
possessed a quiet dignity which was very pleasing. He had a decided turn for
politics, and enough of the suaviter in modo to make himself popular with the
people, and of the fortiter in re so as not to be led by party cliques. The only
surviving members of his family are two daughters, Mrs. John Van Arman, of
Chicago, and Mrs. King, of Battle Creek, and one son, Albert, now in Illinois.
His younger son, Wallace, was accidentally drowned in Battle creek, and Ezra,
another son, died in Illinois.

NATHANIEL BARNEY.

Touching this gentleman, we quote verbatim from A. D. P. Van Buren :
" Of this pioneer tavern-keeper of Battle Creek the people retain kindly recol-
lections. It would be very difficult to find two words more inseparably connected
with the memory of the early days of Battle Creek than these old familiar words
1 Barney's Tavern.' The old log hostelry on the hill, just west of the creek, and
the kind-hearted old landlord, whose hospitality has been extended to so many
emigrants and travelers during the settlement of this part of the State, will be
long remembered. Nathaniel Barney and his family came from Chautauqua
county, New York, arriving at Battle Creek March 9, 1833. He and his son-
in-law, General Ezra Convis, were two of the original proprietors of Battle Creek.
He was made postmaster of the new town in 1834. He also, at an early day,
carried the mail from Marshall, by way of Gull prairie, to Kalamazoo. After
keeping tavern for a number of years in the old log building near the creek he
settled down two miles northwest, and there was landlord and farmer also. At
this time he died, October 18, 1857. His sons, Milton and Oliver, yet live near
the old homestead, in Bedford township."

NEDEBIAH ANGELL

was born in Vermont, and subsequently removed to Hanover, Chautauqua county,
New York, from whence he, in company with some score of others, started with
them on teams for Battle Creek, in February, 1833. He served as justice of the
peace while on his farm, and for a number of years while he lived in town. He
had a practical and legal turn of mind, and was noted as an early " pettifogger"
in the justices' courts of Battle Creek. His daughters, Mrs. Samuel Gregory
and Mrs. Henry Andrews, of Goguac, and Mrs. Jacob Clark and his son George
W., of Battle Creek, are the only surviving members of his family.

MOSES HALL.

In the spring of 1832, Moses Hall left his home among the green hills and
vales of Rutland county, Vermont, for a journey westward, and came to Battle
Creek, where he made a purchase of land for himself and brother Tolman W.,
who still resides in the city. He traveled by " line boat" on the Erie canal to
Buffalo, and by schooner up the lake to Detroit, and from thence on an Indian
pony to Marshall. He met Rev. J. D. Pierce at the latter place, of whom
he purchased one hundred and sixty acres just east of the limits of the present
city of Battle Creek, for which he paid one dollar and seventy-five cents per acre.
He returned home again the same year, and in 1833 made a permanent settle-
ment. He immediately set about " rolling up logs" for a shanty, which he roofed
with " shakes," which served as a shelter for himself and family, consisting of a
wife and five children. He soon after purchased the old Foster house, which
he occupied until 1837. In the meanwhile he had been at work improving his
original purchase, of which he eventually made a fine farm.

Moses Hall held various local offices, and performed their duties with marked
ability and efficiency. He served one term in the State legislature with satisfaction
to the people and credit to himself. He was a justice of the peace for many

.-I

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

81

years, and was an acting magistrate at the time of his death, which occurred May
12, 1860.

Moses Hall was a man of commanding figure and noble appearance, of strong
intellectual faculty, of clear outspoken views, and a self-poise that was admirable.
He was firm in the administration of justice, never allowing himself to be biased
by partisan feeling or influenced by a wrong motive. He was one of the founders
of the Presbyterian church at Battle Creek, and remained one of its most active
and influential members to the day of his death. Socially, he was a valuable
member of society ; a man of noble impulses, of generous feelings ; quick to aid
the distressed or to espouse the cause of the defenseless or injured. His general
reading and culture, his close observation of men and things, and his fine collo-
quial powers, made him an agreeable and companionable man. His general worth
was duly appreciated, and his works and goodness will be long cherished and re-
membered. Of Squire Hall's family, three daughters, Mrs. A. P. Eawson, of
Victor, New York; Mrs. Ellen Stebbins, of Dowagiae, Michigan; and Mrs.
Loren Chadwick, of Chicago; and three sons, Ed. H., of Emmett, and Henry
C. and Chas. T., of Battle Creek, survive.

JUDGE TOLMAN W. HALL,

brother of Moses Hall, was born at Sudbury, Kutland county, Vermont, September
1 , 1805. He received his education at the schools of his native place. On the 12th
of April, 1832, he married Lois Mary Hitchcock. The same year he became owner
of real estate adjoining the present city of Battle Creek, and removed on to it in
the summer of 1834, accompanied by his family. They traveled in a line-boat
through the Champlain and Erie canal to Buffalo ; thence to Detroit on one of
the original Lake Erie steamers. After arriving at his destination he followed
farming for some years, and subsequently entered the mercantile business. He
has held various offices of trust and honor both in the township and county. In
1836 he was elected associate judge of the circuit court of Calhoun County,
which office he filled faithfully and well for eight years. In 1844 he was ad-
mitted to the bar of the county, but has not practiced as an attorney to any ex-
tent. In 1851 and '52 was a director of the Union schools. He served in the
State legislature one term in 1855 and '56 ; held the office of postmaster of Battle
Creek from 1861 to 1866, and represented the first ward of the city as alderman
in 1862-63 ; was elected mayor in 1865 ; has been twice elected a justice of the
peace, and held the office of county superintendent of poor for the last ten years.
All of these offices he has filled with marked ability and unswerving integ-
rity.

In the religious and educational interests of the city, Judge Hall has always
taken an active part ; while in the material growth and prosperity of the place he
has occupied a conspicuous position. He was one of the original members and
most active workers in the Congregational and Presbyterian church of Battle
Creek, and no man did more for that organization than he.

As a citizen he is well known and very highly respected ; as a man he enjoys
the confidence and esteem of the people ; as a neighbor he is liked for his friendly
and courteous manners. In his dealings with his fellow-men he is honest and
upiight, and no man can say aught against his general character. In short, Judge
Hall is a representative man, and one of whom the city in which he has resided
so long, and whose interests he has served so faithfully, is justly proud.

ALLEN WILLARD

was born in Hartland, Windsor county, Vermont, February 10, 1794. He was
educated at Dartmouth college, and was a fellow-student at this famous seat
of learning with Bufus Choate. His son, George Willard, informs us that his
father predicted Choate's distinguished career long before he was known to the
American public as its most eminent lawyer and brilliant orator. While at college,
Mr. Willard says, Choate evinced the fine linguist. It was ever a delight for his
class to hear him render his lesson in Virgil or Cicero into English. He was the
best writer and scholar in college.

Allen Willard removed from Vermont to Michigan in the summer of 1836.
He first settled in Battle Creek township, a little south of where he now lives ;
selling this land he located in the Dr. Beach neighborhood, where he improved a
farm ; this he sold and bought the Hermes Sweet place, on the east side of Goguae
lake, where he at present resides.

Mr. Willard is a man of clear intelligence and sterling character. He has not
sought prominence in public affairs, but rather to enjoy the society of his family
and friends, his books, and the cultivation of his farm. He has educated his two
sons, George and Charles, giving the former, who early evinced a great desire for
learning, the advantage of a well-stored library, and affording him full opportunity
for improving it. Charles Willard has the management of the farm, and his
father, in his beautiful home on the east bank of Goguac lake, is enjoying the
evening of his life, passing quietly away to his eternal home.
11

THE FIRST LOG HOUSE.

Concerning this historic structure we quote from A. D. P. Van Buren's series
of newspaper articles on the " Early History of Calhoun County :"

" The following account relates to the building of the first house in Battle
Creek, called the Foster house. As we have stated in a previous article, Sherman
Comings, of Toland prairie, had borrowed money of Daniel G. Garnsey, whom he
met at White Pigeon in 1831. The account we now present, the writer got of
James It. Comings, of Galesburg, son of Sherman Comings ; it is copied from
the account-book of the latter. The Mr. Rich mentioned is Estes Rich, who, it
seems, worked for Mr. Comings, as he charges his labor to Mr. Garnsey.

"Sept. 8, 1831, To 1 day to Mr. Howard's on your business $1.00

" li days after nails 1.50

" 4 " of two hands and two yoke of oxen 12.00

Sept. 23, To 1 week of two hands and board 12.00

" hands to raise 3.00

" Mr. Rich, hauling boards 4.00

" finding Rich .75

" 8 bushels of wheat at 6a 6.00

" hauling out 1.00

Oct. 2, To 5 days, myself and son „ 10.00

" paid Mr. Rich for harrowing in wheat, 4£ days 6.75

" boarding Mr. Rich 2.00

$59.50

" This account fixed the time when the work on the house was begun, and when
they had the ' raising,' which was in September ; also when the building was fin-
ished, for the 'five days, myself and son' being ten days' labor, which, as the
account has it, was performed in October. While Mr. Comings and son and
Rich, when with them, were building this house, they boarded with Isaac Toland,
who lived south of the river."

THE FIRST FRAME HOUSE.

The first frame house, properly speaking, was that erected by John V. Henry,
in the old Gardner settlement, which is about five miles from Battle Creek. He
built a goodly-sized frame structure out there, intending it for a tavern, in 1834,
but never covered or utilized it. The frame was removed to Battle Creek in
1836 by Isaac Merrett, who placed it on the site now occupied by the American
hotel. It was used for a number of years by Lowry & Hewitt as a tavern, prob-
ably having been thus used about 1840.

In 1837 Judge Tolman W. Hall erected a frame dwelling-house on the lot next
east of the American hotel, which now constitutes the back part of the Bristol
house, being the first frame residence built on Main street.

THE FIRST BRICK HOUSE

was erected by Jonathan Hart, in 1846. It is on Maple street, and is now occu-
pied by Thomas Hart, son of the original owner.

THE FIRST MERCHANTS.

The first person to open a regular store in Battle Creek was Wm. H. Coleman,
who kept the first store in a log building on the corner of Main and Jefferson
streets, as now called, on the lot now occupied by Hon. James L. Whitcomb's
block, and continued there for many years, securing the claim of being the pro-
prietor of the first permanent commercial establishment in the place. Mr. Cole-
man came from New York to Battle Creek in 1835. An old resident, and a
good judge of character, says of him : " When I first saw Wm. H. Coleman in
his log store he had much the appearance of the boy about him, but I soon found
that he possessed the elements of the successful merchant, the gentleman, and fine
business qualifications. He was a man of ardent temperament and decided
opinions, suave and polite in his manners, an intelligent and agreeable talker, and
a favorite among his friends."

Some few years after he came here he married Lucretia, daughter of Isaac
Merrett. In after-life he became a banker, but his health failing, he retired from
business, and died May 19, 1871. He was an active and prominent member of
the Presbyterian church, and ever a most trusted and worthy citizen. He left
a widow and three sons. Merrett is a banker at Lansing, with whom Mrs.
Coleman lives ; Horton served during the war in Missouri, and is settled at
Memphis, Tennessee ; George is a dentist at Lansing.

About contemporary with Mr. Coleman in the mercantile business was David
H. Daniels, now of Galesburg, who sold goods on the site of the former residence
of Dr. Campbell, but soon was induced by General Convis to remove to Yerona,
where he opened a store and sold goods for a few years.

THE FIRST BIRTH

within the present limits of the city was that of Henry C, son of Moses and
Mary Hall, who was born December 25, 1833.

82

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

THE FIRST FEMALE BIRTH

was that of Caroline M., daughter of General and Mrs. Ezra Convis, who was
born November 19, 1834.

THE FIRST MARRIAGE

ceremony performed in the infant settlement was that of James Simonds, now of
Kalamazoo county, and Miss Parthenia Thomas. The nuptials were celebrated
with honors, and considerable rejoicing was had. The interesting contract was
justi(ce)fied by Moses Hall, Esq., who did not happen to have the " fever'neg," as
did Justice Hudson on the occasion of the marriage of Mr. Frank Thomas and
Miss Amanda Goddard a few years subsequently, which mere reference will be
sufficient for the old residenters.

THE FIRST DEATH

was that of an infant child of Ezra Convis, which died early in the summer of
1834.

THE FIRST BURYING-GROUND, AND OAK HILL CEMETERY.

The first burying-ground was laid out on land donated by Sands McCamly, in
1835. It contained almost three acres, and was located on the corner of Cham-
pion and Washington streets, adjoining the water-cure property. Among the
early interments were those of the first wife of Moses Hall, who was buried there
in 1835, the first wife of Judge T. W. Hall, in 1841, and Moses Hall, Sr., in
1842. About 1844, the present burying-ground of the Oak Hill Cemetery
Company was laid out, and many of the bodies interred in the original grave-yard
were taken up and interred in the new place. It continued without a charter up
to 1855, when John Meachem, Esq., prepared a bill relating to public burying-
grounds in the State generally, which Judge Hall, then a member of the lower
house, introduced, and successfully advocated its passage ; and it became a law
on the 12th of February of that year. Under this act the " Oak Hill Cemetery
Company" was organized on the 22d of August, 1855. We quote from the
records of the company as follows :

" Public Meeting. — Tolman W. Hall, Edward Cox, John K. Lothridge,
Orlando Moffatt, Frederick M. Sanderson, Gideon F. Smith, John Meachem, Ellery
Hicks, and Ogden Green met at Wakelee's hall in the village of Battle Creek, on the
22d day of August, 1855, under the authority of a certain warrant issued by Erastus
R. Wattles, Esq., justice of the peace, directed to Gideon F. Smith, upon the appli-
cation of the said Gideon F. Smith, Alonzo Noble, and William H. Coleman, due
notice of the said meeting having been previously given. The meeting was or-
ganized by appointing John Meachem, president, and Walter W. Woolnough,
secretary. . . . The following persons were elected as officers of the company,
and severally filed their acceptances as provided by statute : President, Gideon
F. Smith ; Clerk, John Meachem ; Treasurer, Frederick M. Sanderson ; Sexton,
Ogden Green."

The grounds have been tastefully arranged and decorated with shrubs, trees,
and flowers, so that they now present a pleasing appearance. Many fine monu-
ments have been erected, which tend to relieve the sombre aspect of the place,
and stand forth as tributes of affectionate regard for the memory of those who
" sleep the sleep that knows no waking" beneath them. An air of quiet repose
pervades the place, as is meet, and the feeling of awe and reverence which a visit
there evokes is relieved by the thoughtful and delicate tokens of respect for the
departed ones, which are everywhere apparent. Perhaps no greater progress
characterizes our civilization than the care and adornment bestowed upon our
modern necropoli.

The officers elected at the last annual meeting, held December 25, 1876, were
President, Alexander C. Hamblin ; Vice-President, Joseph M. Ward ; Treasurer,
Marcus C. Schafer;- Clerk, Moses B. Russell, Esq.; Sexton, C. R. Woodford;
Auditors, Edward Cox, M.D., Henry T. Hinman, and William Andrus.

From the necrological reports of 1875-76, we find that in 1875 101 inter-
ments were made, of which number 95 were in the cemetery proper, and 6 in
the Potter's Field. In 1876 there were 88 burials, of which 81 are on lots and
7 in the Potter's Field; In glancing over the list of the former year, we notice
among the prominent citizens interred the following : Merritt Coleman, aged 93 ;
Lydia Ford, 87 ••; Francis Miler, 89 ; Asa Phelps, 83 ; Warren B. Shepard, 65.
In 1876, Elizabeth Gilbert, aged 70 ; Diantha S. Gardner, 68 ; Elizabeth Harper,
63; Olive Hewitt, 67 ; Ellen Morse, 79; Charles Parker, 74; Elijah W.
Pendill, 67 ; Elizabeth W. Root, 82 ; Frederick M. Sanderson, 64 ; Anna Tracy,
90.

THE FIRST SCHOOL.

The early settlers evinced a commendable interest in matters pertaining to the
education of their children, for we find that ere the incipient city possessed a
score of juveniles, a school-house was erected, and the services of a teacher pro-
cured, in the person of Warren B. Shepard. This occurred in 1834, and during the

winter of that and the succeeding year school was regularly taught by that gen-
tleman, and in the ensuing summer by Miss Sarah Phelps. The primitive school-
house is remembered by many with feelings of pleasure, for around it clustered
some of the most delightful memories of the past. Not only were the children
of the village taught within its walls, but also entertainments of various kinds
were held in it. Here the native eloquence of the youthful orators was expended
in debate, for, be it known, a full-fledged debating club was organized contemporary
with the establishment of the school. It was also used by the various religious
denominations as a place of worship. But the venerable structure long since
ceased to recall by its presence the happy memories of youth. It has gone. The
old school-master has also departed, and he sleeps the " long, long sleep" near the
spot where he came a young man full of life and energy, both of which were spent
in the home of his adoption, and were fruitful of much good. And where now
are his pupils ? Many of them, too, are gone. Among those remembered by
Mr. Shepard, and repeated to A. D. P. Yan Buren a short time prior to his
death, were children from the following families : Deacon Salters, Daniel Thomas,
Isaac Tollands, and Nathaniel Barneys. William Kirk came from Goguac. Han-
nah and Lucinda Angell, the former now Mrs. Henry Andrews, and the latter
Mrs. Jacob Clark, of Battle Creek ; Eliza and Hastings Hall, children of Moses
Hall ; Mary McCamly, now Mrs. L. H. Stewart, of Battle Creek. General Con-
vis sent his sons Albert and Ezra and his daughter, now Mrs. John Yan Arman,
of Chicago.

The settlement on Goguac prairie had a school about a year prior to that at
Battle Creek, a sketch of which is given in the history of that section under the
head of Battle Creek township.

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN BATTLE CREEK.

The introduction of Methodism into this vicinity occurred in 1833. In the
spring of that year a Methodist class was organized, composed of the following
persons : Daniel Thomas and his wife, Parthenia their daughter, Aranthus their
son, who was selected leader, and Jonathan Thomas, a cousin of the latter. The
house in which the organization took place, and where the class always met, was
that of Daniel Thomas, and occupied the site of the present residence of Cornelius
Fonda, near the south limits of the city. Death and removals caused the dis-
banding of this class in 1834, when a new organization was formed two or three
miles west, on Goguac prairie, under the ministry of Rev. Thomas Wiley, who
had been appointed by the Ohio conference to what was then called Calhoun cir-
cuit. The next year Rev. James F. Davidson became the preacher.

In the spring of the following year, 1836, a class was formed in Battle Creek
which finally absorbed the society on Goguac prairie, and became the permanent
Methodist church of the community. It was organized by a local preacher, Rev.
Asa Phelps, and consisted at first of himself and the following persons : Daniel
Clark and wife, Thomas Hickman and wife, Mrs. John Wentz, and Theodosia
Clark, afterwards Mrs. Cranston. Of these one is still living, — Mrs. Daniel
Clark, of Assyria. Mrs. Thomas Hickman has recently died.

This society was soon increased by transfers and additions of converts. Addi-
son Clark was one of the first, if not the very first, of the leaders of this class.
Rev. E. H. Pilcher, still an influential minister in Michigan, was among the first
presiding elders who visited this community, and held the old-fashioned Methodist
quarterly meetings to which the people came for many miles around. The min-
isters who have been appointed to the circuit of which Battle Creek was a p&rt,
or to Battle Creek as a station, are as follows : 1836, Elijah Crane, Alvin Billings,
Allen Staples, J. F. Davidson, Washington Jackson, Richard Lawrence, Peter
Salein, Roswell Parker, Joseph Jennings, Rezin Sapp, Franklin Gage, E. H. Pil-
cher, 0. Mason, J. F. Davidson, M. B. Camburn, William Kelly, R. C. Crawford,
Enoch Holstock, F. B. Bangs, Jacob Odel, Rezin Sapp, Joseph Jennings, N. S.
Fassett, T. H. Jacokes, L. M. Earl, J. I. Buell, D. D. Gillett, E. Cooley, Jr.,
Lister H. Pearce, the present incumbent.

The first public building used by this society as a preaching place was a log
school-house, which was situated near the spot where McCrea's grocery now
stands. Afterwards they held divine service in the frame school-house which
was built on the present site of Edmond's & Dwinell's planing-mill. The first
Methodist church in Battle Creek was erected in 1841, and was situated on the
corner of Marshall and Division streets, opposite the location of the present
church edifice. Rev. Peter Sabin was preacher in charge, but the church was
opened with a quarterly meeting in December of that year, which was conducted
by Rev. E. H. Pilcher, who was presiding elder.

This was a small frame building, which soon was too small for the increasing
congregation, and was enlarged. Finally, in 1859, it was sold to the colored
Baptist society, who removed it a little distance east of the Michigan Central
railroad crossing on Marshall street, where they continue to occupy it.

The present church building was erected during the pastorate of Rev. Jacob

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

83

Odel, in 1859. Kev. Joseph Jennings was presiding elder, and rendered most
efficient help in pushing the enterprise to a successful result. Among the laymen
who were prominent in the work of building this church were M. K. Gregory,
a. F. Smith, E. W. Pendill, Emmet Beach, David Coy, and J. A. Main.

The three first named have died. The building is finely located at the inter-
section of Main, Marshall, Division, and South streets. It is brick, with stone
foundation, front centre tower and spire, and an organ recess in the rear. The
length of the main body of the edifice is eighty-four feet, and the width fifty-six
feet. There is a commodious basement, with three convenient small rooms for
social meetings and entertainments. The audience-room is finely finished and
furnished, and has an easy seating capacity of six hundred, while by extra seating
an audience of seven hundred and fifty is often accommodated. A very fine
organ, which cost the society four thousand dollars, occupies the recess back of
the pulpit, and a bell weighing over two thousand pounds hangs in the tower.

During the last year the walls of the building have been covered on the outside
with a coating of red composition and lined with white mortar in imitation of
brick. This has given the building a bright, new appearance.

The society owns a parsonage, which is situated at No. 5 Bennett street. This
property has been renovated and greatly improved in appearance during the last
year or two, and makes a very pleasant home for the pastor. The church is en-
tirely free from debt, and in a very prosperous condition. During the last two
years two hundred have been added to its membership. The present total num-
ber of members is four hundred and fourteen. The average attendance of the
Sunday-school is nearly three hundred ; that of the general prayer-meeting, one
hundred.

The pastor is supported entirely by the free-will offerings of the people, made
mainly in the Sabbath morning congregation. He has no salary. There are no
assessments nor renting of seats for pastoral support. A strict account is, how-
ever, kept of the amount contributed and by whom given. This plan has been
employed during the pastorate of Rev. L. H. Pearce, and has worked most satis-
factorily. The other expenses of the church are met by apportionment among
the members.

The chief officers of the society are as follows: Rev. H. C. Peck, presiding
elder, residence, Kalamazoo; Rev. L. H. Pearce, pastor; A. B. Powell, Sunday-
school superintendent; P. H. Greene, chairman finance committee; M. B. Rus-
sell, president board of trustees ; J. M. Galloup, recording steward. It is a fact
worthy of mention that Mr. Ogden Green has been sexton for thirty-eight years.

THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OP BATTLE CREEK

was originally organized in the Gardner settlement, in Emmett township, in
April, 1835. The exercises were first held in private dwellings, and subsequently
in the log school-house, the first and only one in Battle Creek at that time. The
sermon for the occasion was preached by Rev. Ebenezer Loomis. The constituent
members were Michael Spencer and wife, Nedebiah Angell and wife, William
Carter and wife, Mrs. Horace Mott and her two sons, Nelson and Elter, and also
her two daughters, Ann and Sallie, Zopher Mott, Mrs. Ezra Con vis, Benjamin
T. Dwinell and wife, Sophia Southworth, Asa Lowell and his mother, and Phoebe
Johnson, in all nineteen, of whom but one, the last named in the list, is now
connected with the society. About two months later the church reported to the
La Grange association, which met at Constantine, June 11, 1835, a membership
of twenty-one. William Carter and B. T. Dwinell were the delegates to that
body.

A few weeks after the organization of the church the Rev. Robert Adams
commenced laboring with and for the church, and remained with them till his
death, about ten years. In 1846, Rev. Ten Broeck became their pastor, his
pastorate continuing about three years, and closing in 1849. During his ministry
with the church their first house of worship was built, causing much sacrifice on
the part of its members, which they met faithfully and fulfilled cheerfully. This
house did service until 1871, when the present fine brick edifice was erected at a
cost of nearly twenty-five thousand dollars. It was dedicated in 1872 by Rev.
Mr. Whitehead, assisted by Rev. E. W. Lounsbury, the pastor, and Rev. Mr.
Woodruff, of Detroit.

In 1850 the church was supplied by Elders Taylor and Green; in 1851, Dr.
Joseph Belcher was the pastor, and in 1852 Rev. John Harris commenced his
pastoral connection with it, which extended till his death in 1864. From 1853
to 1872 the church records are either mislaid or lost, so that the list of pastors
herein following may not be precisely correct in their order, but we believe the
list includes all that need be mentioned. After Rev. John Harris came Revs.
Harrington, Job Maxom, Elder Garfield, E. W. Lounsbury, C. H. James, and
the present incumbent, Rev. L. D. Palmer. The first deacons were David N.
Salter and William Carter. The present deacons are Richard Pool, George
Betterly, Peter Hoffmaster, T. W. Case. The present membership is three hun-

dred. The Sabbath- school was organized about the same time as the church?
and, like it, was of small origin and gradual growth. The present superintendent
is Rev. L. D. Palmer; librarian, Eugene Freeman; membership, two hundred
and fifty ; number of volumes in library, three hundred. Both the church and
Sabbath-school are in a prosperous condition.

THE UNITED CONGREGATIONAL AND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The inhabitants of the village of Battle Creek and vicinity holding the faith
of the Congregational and Presbyterian church, assembled at the usual place of
holding public worship, to wit, in the old log school-house, within the present
limits of the city, on the 26th day of March, 1836," for the purpose of considering
the subject of forming a church at that place. The ministers present were Rev.
Silas Woodbury, from Kalamazoo, and Rev. William Jones, from Allegan. The
former was chosen moderator, and Tolman W. Hall secretary. After due dis-
cussion it was unanimously resolved to form a church on the plan recommended
by the general assembly of the Presbyterian church and the association of
the Congregational church of Connecticut, as adopted a.d. 1801. Letters were
presented by David H. Daniels and Mary his wife, John S. Van Brunt and
Betsey his wife, Moses Hall and Mary his wife, Tolman W. Hall and Lois M.
his wife, and accepted. Accordingly on the Sabbath following (March 27) the
above-named persons were duly constituted a church of Christ, and the following
officers were chosen : Moses Hall and David H. Daniels, committee ; Tolman W.
Hall, clerk ; John S. Van Brunt, deacon.

On the 25th of June following, Elijah M. Morey presented his letter from the
church at Preble, New York, which was received July 30 of the same year;
Joseph Young and Elizabeth his wife, and Jacob Y. W. and Maria E. Young
presented certificates from the Second Presbyterian church of Oneonta, New
York, and were received as members of the church ; also Fayette Cross and
Sophia his wife, and Electa Cross, were received on certificates from the Presby-
terian church at Wheatland, New T York. Joseph Young was elected deacon.

From this time to the present the increase in the membership of the church
has been steadily progressing, and the church liberally sustained, both through
the struggling years of its incipiency and through those of its maturity.

The first baptism in the church was that of Lucy Jane, daughter of D. H. and
M. Daniels, July, 1837. In September of the same year, Henry, son of Moses
and Mary Hall, and Edwin, son of Deacon S. W. Leggett, received the ordinance
of baptism. The first death from among the members of the church was that of
Mary, wife of Moses Hall, which occurred August 12, 1838.

For the first few years after the regular organization of the church, public wor-
ship was held in the log school-house, and afterwards in the frame school-house
which stood in what is now called the wood-market. In 1842, immediately fol-
lowing the institution of the church society, a meeting of that body was held, in
January, at which a motion was passed to the effect that the trustees (viz. : Joseph
Young, Piatt Gilbert, Moses Hall, Gr. F. Smith, and S. W. Leggett) be instructed
to take into custody any funds, property, or subscriptions belonging to the church
or society, and proceed to purchase a site and build a meeting-house for the said
society. On the 31st of January, of the same year, a supplementary resolution
was passed as follows :

"Resolved, That the trustees be instructed to purchase the Henry lots (site of
present church edifice), provided they can do so on reasonable terms, not to exceed
four hundred dollars."

The property above alluded to was purchased, and in 1842-43 a neat frame
house was erected, which served the church until November, 1846, when it was
destroyed by fire. Pending preparations for the building of another house of
worship, the society held religious services in a room in Union block. At a
meeting held March 1, 1847, the subjoined votes were passed :

" Voted, That the interest of this church requires prompt measures be taken
for the erection of a new house of worship.

" Voted, That a general building and business committee be appointed by this
meeting, whose duty it shall be to appoint a special building committee of five,
whose business it shall be to collect the funds and superintend the erection of a
new house of worship." The following gentlemen were appointed as such com-
mittee : Samuel Flagler, T. M. Hall, Joseph Young, Wm. H. Coleman, S. W.
Leggett, James Hutchinson, Charles Root, W. Brewster, Wm. Brooks, Miles
Seymour, H. Cantine, A. Whitcomb, Eli L. Stillson, Gr. F. Smith, Charles Yail,
Charles Bartlett, and Moses Hall.

" Voted, That our contemplated house of worship be built of brick."

The committee for the collection of funds, etc., was composed of W. H. Cole-
man, Miles Seymour, and Charles Yail. These were afterwards substituted by
Samuel Flagler, William Brooks, and Tolman W. Hall. The former gentleman
was appointed to superintend the erection of the house.

84

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

February 19, 1849, the slips in the new church edifice were sold at auction by
T. W. Hall. No. 12 sold for one hundred and thirty dollars, to Mr. Seymour,
which was the highest price paid. The balance up to No. 69 sold for from fifty
to one hundred and twenty-seven dollars, according to location.

In 1868 the church edifice erected in 1847 was partially demolished, and a
large addition made to the remaining portion of it, at a cost of nearly sixteen
thousand dollars. The house as now standing has a seating capacity of eight
hundred, and is valued at twenty thousand dollars.

Supplies and pastors. — The first stated supply was Rev. Calvin Clark, who
served the congregation in 1837 ; he was followed in 1838 by Rev. S. M. S.
Smith, and he by Rev. Justin Marsh the same year. In 1839, Rev. Stephen
Mason officiated, and in 1840, Rev. H. Hyde; in 1841, Rev. M. Knapen; Rev. R.
B. Bement, in 1843 ; Rev. Alex. Trotter, 1845 ; Rev. Joel Byington, 1846 ;
Rev. S. D. Pitkin, 1848 ; Rev. Charles Jones, 1858 ; Rev. E. L. Davies, 1861 ;
Rev. S. E. Wishard, 1867 ; Rev. W. C. Dickinson, 1871 ; Rev. H. H. Haloway,
1873-77. Church at present without a pastor.

Statistics. — At the close of the year 1836 the roll contained the names of
twenty-one members ; in 1846 it had increased to one hundred and thirty-eight,
and in 1877 the membership was two hundred. The present officers of the
church are — Deacons, C. B. Hubbard, S. W. Leggett, and Wm. H. Skinner;
Church Committee, Tolman W. Hall, Wm. Brooks, Wm. H. Skinner, T. A.
Chadwick, C. C. Peavey, S. W. Leggett. The present officers of the Sabbath-
school are — Superintendent, Hon. Charles Austin ; Assistant Superintendent, Gar-
rett Decker ; Secretary, Miss Mary Mott ; Treasurer, Miss Ella Skinner ; Li-
brarian, Frank Peaslee. The membership is about three hundred ; number of
volumes in the Sunday-school library, three hundred.

Of the original members of the church only four survive, namely, Tolman W.
Hall, David H. Daniels and Mary his wife, and John S. Yan Brunt. Of these
only the first named is now a member of the church, having sustained his con-
nection with it for forty-one years.

ST. THOMAS' EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The first preaching according to the tenets of the Episcopal church in Battle
Creek was in 1839, by the Rev. F. H. Cunning. Public worship was again
held soon after by Rev. Samuel Buel, who was kindly entertained by Mr. and
Mrs. Samuel W. McCamly and Mrs. Barton, the only Episcopalians in the place.
After the lapse of nearly two years (in August, 1841), Rev. Montgomery Schuy-
ler visited the village and held service ; and in December following he preached
regularly every alternate Sunday. His services were largely attended. In the
afternoon of the 21st of April, 1842, the Right Rev. Samuel McCoskey, bishop
of the diocese, visited the place, preached in the Methodist church, and admin-
istered the apostolic rite of confirmation to six persons.

The Rev. M. Schuyler continued to preach frequently after the bishop's visit ;
and the interest in the services still increasing, it was thought advisable to organize
a parish, which was accordingly done August 7, 1842, under the name and title
of " St. Thomas' Church of Battle Creek, Michigan."

On the fourth day of December, 1843, the parish extended a call to the Rev.
R. G. Cox, who accepted the same, and remained several months. At the solici-
tation of the vestry, Rev. R. S. Adams took charge of the parish on the 1st of
May, 1845, and continued its rector for nearly three years. During his pastorate,
a neat and substantial church edifice was erected and dedicated to the service of
Almighty God. This house served the parish, with some repairs, notably those
of 1862, until it was torn down, in 1875, to give place to the larger and more
beautiful church building now rapidly nearing completion, of which more here-
after will be noted. The rectors who have followed Rev. R. S. Adams, with the
dates of their respective ministries, are :

Reverends H. Safford from June 14, 1849, to February 18, 1852 ; D. B.
Lyon, June 1, 1852, to April 1, 1855; George Willard, April 15, 1855, to
April 9, 1860 (when he left the ministry and the church, and joined the Pres-
byterians) ; Augustus Bush, September 23, 1860, to August, 1866 ; Charles
Ritter, October 1, 1866, to October 25, 1867; Josiah Phelps, February 4, 1867,
to February 17, 1871 ; George Washington Wilson, June 1, 1871, to March 15,
1874. For a few months in 1874 one I. E. Jackson was installed as rector, but
not being satisfied or giving satisfaction, he resigned ; since which time they
have had no regular rector.

In 1875 the question of building a more commodious church was agitated
among the members. And at an adjourned meeting of the building committee,
held in the William Andrus block on the 1st of June of that year, — at which
all the members were present, viz., William Andrus, C. Wakelee, J. M. Werd,
Edward Cox, M.D., and C. F. Bock, — the following resolution was offered by
Mr. Bock, and unanimously adopted :

" Resolved, That the financial committee be and are hereby instructed to make

every effort in their power to raise by subscription a sufficient sum of money to
enable us to build a new church, and that we hereby pledge the said committee
every aid and support possible for the furtherance of the same."

On the 7th of June, 1875, the financial committee began taking subscriptions,
and on the 20th of August following they reported thirteen thousand seven
hundred and ten dollars subscribed. On the 23d of the latter month the com-
mittee met Mortimer S. Smith, an architect from Detroit, with whom they made
arrangements for plans and designs, paying him two hundred and fifty dollars for
those they selected. They then purchased additional ground, adjacent to the old
church lot, for fifteen hundred dollars, and in July, 1875, commenced work on
the foundation of the building. When completed, it is estimated that it, with
grounds and furniture, will cost about twenty thousand dollars. Its dimensions
are forty-three by one hundred and twenty feet, including the chapel. It is built
of brick, on a solid stone foundation, will have a spire and belfry, and will be one
of the finest sacred edifices in the city. The present communicant membership
of the church is about one hundred, while the congregation numbers about three
hundred and fifty.

The present church officers are — C. S. Gray, senior warden ; Charles F. Bock,
junior warden and treasurer of the building committee ; vestry, William Andrus,
Edward Cox, M.D., J. W. Wood, F. D. Dibble, W. H. Noble, W. N. Gleason;
E. B. Fisher, clerk ; J. W. Wood, treasurer.

A Sunday-school was organized contemporaneously with the church, and has
flourished ever since. The present number of teachers is sixteen; number of
scholars, ninety. Superintendent, Charles F. Bock.

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH.

Meetings of this society were established in this town as early as 1854. In
1855 a small house of worship was built on Cass street, between Van Buren and
Champion, at a cost of less than two hundred dollars. The material was wood.
Size, sixteen by twenty-four feet. The early preachers were Elder James White,
Elder J. N. Loughborough, Elder J. B. Frisbie.

In 1857 the congregation had so increased that it became necessary to erect a
more commodious house of worship. The material of this building was also
wood. Size, twenty-eight by forty-two feet. It is still standing, on Yan Buren
street, near the corner of Cass.

No permanent organization of the society was established until October 24,
1861. The " church covenant" was then signed by seventy-three persons.
Elder James White was the first pastor. Geo. W. Amadon was chosen elder ;
Myron J. Cornell and Wm. Hall, deacons ; Uriah Smith, clerk.

The increasing membership of the church called for a still larger place of wor.
ship, and September 26, 1866, their present church building was raised near the
corner of West Main and Washington streets, and was opened for meetings in
May, 1867. It is a wooden building, forty by sixty-five feet, and twenty-three
feet high inside. Including the gallery, it is estimated that it will seat seven
hundred persons.

The present membership of the church is two hundred and seventy-five. Elder
James White is still pastor ; Uriah Smith and Professor S. Brownsberger, elders ;
M. J. Cornell and James Sawyer, deacons ; M. J. Cornell, O. B. Jones, and J.
G. Whipple, trustees ; Wm. Sisley, treasurer ; R. H. Coggeshall, clerk.

The Sabbath-school was organized about 1857. Merritt G. Kellogg was the first
superintendent. The present officers are Prof. G. H. Bell, superintendent ; Wm.
K. Loughborough, assistant superintendent ; Miss Ella Davis, secretary. Number
of scholars, two hundred and twenty-five. Number of books in library, two
hundred.

FIRST SOCIETY OF SPIRITUALISTS*

Previous to the year 1860 there existed in Battle Creek a flourishing society
of Universalists, also a society of Friends, or, as they are more commonly called,
Quakers. These societies numbered among their members many of the most
respected citizens and earliest settlers of this portion of Michigan.

It is well known to those familiar with the history of the last forty years that
the idea and possibility that the mortal still holding his place in this world could
hold systematic and intelligent communication with those who had passed to the
immortal shores originated in Rochester, New York, in 1848, under the cognomen
of " spirit-rappings." For several years the belief in this intercourse had been
spreading " far and wide" over the country, until every city, town, and hamlet
held its converts, numbered in the aggregate by millions.

During the years from 1848 to 1859-60, occasional " trance" speakers had
visited Battle Creek, addresssing large, intelligent, and most attentive audiences,
while in the city and neighboring country had been developed, from among those
possessing no natural or educational advantages beyond the farm-house and district-

* Communicated by Mrs. Jeremiah Brown.

JL

RESIDENCE OF JAMES H. ST El WART .battle greek m

CALHOUN CO., MICH.

Residence: or ALEX.L. CLARK, BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

85

school, some who, in the trance condition, exhibited rare powers of elocution, and
giving forth most instructive and elevating sentiments of religious and moral duty.
These speakers won attention the more, because they were often boys and girls in
their teens, who, in their normal condition, possessed no capacity or comprehension
to enable them to utter the profound ideas and scientific deductions that flowed
so freely from their unaccustomed lips. Their hearers listened and wondered as
" Truths divine came mended from their tongues." They taught no creed but
love to G-od and love to our neighbor, 'perfect purity of life, a strict subordination
of the lower or animal propensities to the spiritual or higher, and the very highest
culture of the spiritual ; that we are ever attended by spirits, elevated or degraded,
as our habits of life and surroundings attract good or undeveloped ones to our
side. They also taught that every act or thought in our lives was weaving our
future, that no " vicarious atonement" could save us from the consequences of a
transgression of divine law, but each one must stand or fall by their own merits.
These teachings, promulgated, as was believed, by spirits, were so in accordance,
with the tender mercy and loving kindness of God the Father that they were
readily accepted by the Friends and Universalists, and, in 1860, they determined
to unite under a legal organization, and form a new religious association, the
following " Article of Association," forming the basis 01 action.

" We the undersigned do hereby associate ourselves together, for the purpose of
organizing a religious society at the city of Battle Creek, Michigan, by such
corporate name as we may adopt at the regular meeting to be hereafter called ;
and for the purpose of acquiring and holding in our corporate capacity real and
personal property, and for using the same for such legitimate purposes as the law
authorizes, and for the further purpose of enabling us, as corporators, and our
successors, to promote rational freedom, both religious and political, and to enable
ourselves and our successors to labor for the moral improvement and elevation of
our race, and to promote the best interests of the divine and spiritual nature of
man, both here and hereafter.

"February 11, 1860."

The Rev. J. M. Peebles, of Baltimore, Maryland, was the first settled preacher,
and he occupied the desk of the society for about seven years, with the exception
of a few months' absence by permission, for the purpose of recuperating his health
in the genial climate of California. During his ministration his congregation was
the largest of any in the city, and he and his most excellent wife were the centre
of a large, attached, and appreciative circle of friends, and it was with deep regret
that these friends, and the community in general, saw them depart when circum-
stances made it necessary for them to return to the east.

After a few years, it was deemed advisable by the society to change its name
to that of the " First Society of Spiritualists of Battle Creek," and by this name
it is still known. It was also thought incumbent on its supporters to issue a
" declaration of principles," as the society had been greatly slandered, and com-
promised by the conduct of some who had subscribed to the articles of association,
and professed to believe in the pure , teachings of spiritualism, but whose daily
walk in life belied their profession, and brought disgrace on those who were
associated with them. A committee was appointed by the officers to arrange a
declaration, and one was proposed and accepted as indicating the spirit, aims, and
intentions of the societies.

Let none hold this organization responsible for the conduct of individual
members, for, as in the family, while the shortcomings and crimes of one may
cast gloom and sorrow over all, yet each must stand or fall by their own merits,
of which we do not constitute ourselves the judges, but will say with Christ
" Go and sin no more," or, " Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."

The officers of the society are as follows : President, A. A. Whitney ; Secretary,
E. C. Manchester ; Treasurer, Wm. Merritt ; Trustees, Mrs. M. Cummings, Mrs
L. E. Bailey, Mrs. G. S. Cole.

friends' meeting.

Among the early settlers of Battle Creek and vicinity were quite a number of
members of the society of Friends, or, as commonly called, " Quakers." As early
as 1836-37 that body had formed themselves in a meeting, and a few years sub-
sequently, in 1843, had erected one of their neat but plain meeting-houses, in
which they worshiped for nearly a quarter of a century.

Among the early members of the meeting were Joseph Merrett and Phoebe
his wife, Isaac Merrett and Esther his wife, Jonathan Hart and Mary his wife
Eli Lapham and Rachel his wife, Isaac Sutton and Sarah his wife, Jacob Frost
and Jane A. his wife, Jacob Stringham and Sarah his wife, Abraham Lockwood
and Mary his wife, William Knowles and Gulielma his wife, Joseph Kirby and
Salome his wife, Ambrose Cock and Phoebe his wife, Erastus Hussey and Sarah
E. his wife, Reynolds Cornell and Deborah his wife, John Meachem, Lindley
Bowne, and Dr. Archelaus Harwood.

In 1860 they sold their meeting-house to the Catholics, by whom it is now

used, and about the same time erected one in the Stringham neighborhood, in
Bedford township, and in 1871 they built a small house in their burying-ground
in Battle Creek, where they have occasional preaching.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

was organized in 1863. Repeated efforts failed to procure the necessary data for
its history.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

There can be no more certain index to the sociological condition and progress
of any community than the history of its public schools. There is no other pub-
lic enterprise which is so purely an outgrowth of these fundamental principles
which refine and elevate society as is the public school, and there is no other so
sensitive to any modification of those principles. Since ignorance and intelligence,
using the terms most comprehensively, are the opposites of mental condition, the
essential character either of the individual or of society must be determined by
reference to an educational standard. The public school affords an easy applica-
tion of this standard. It is the exponent of the popular appreciation of the value
of education, and thus of the grade of the popular intelligence.

In looking carefully over the history of Battle Creek,* one cannot fail to note
that its schools have ever been the most prominent of its public enterprises. From
the earliest settlement of the town they have been its chief care and its greatest
pride. As compared with other communities, Battle Creek has been foremost in
providing facilities for the education of its youth ; and by a generous outlay of
money, and a wise administration of its educational affairs, it has sought to make
its schools of the very highest order. The following epitome is designed to show
the development of those schools from their rude beginnings to the present time.
It is of necessity brief, in order to note the more important facts.

So late as 1831, what is now Battle Creek and the surrounding country was an
unbroken wilderness. In 1834 the first school district was organized, and a tax
of sixty dollars was levied for the purpose of building a school-house. This was
constructed of logs, and stood on what is now the corner of Main and East Canal
streets. Mr. Warren B. Shepard, until lately living near the city, was the first
teacher.

This log house accommodated the children of the district until the years 1837-
38, when five hundred dollars was voted for the erection of a larger and better
building. This was located in the open space now used as a hay and wood
market, on the east side of South Jefferson street. A small library was purchased
for the school in 1840.

In 1844 the more progressive friends of education proposed a Union school for
the village and some of the contiguous districts, but meeting opposition, they were
unable to carry out their plans. In 1845, the board of school inspectors, in oppo-
sition to the Union school project, attempted to divide the district, but after a
somewhat exciting controversy they were unsuccessful. In 1847 a union of the
village district with fractional parts of school districts of the townships of Emmett
and Bedford was effected, the whole including territory equal to five and five-
eighths sections. The boundaries of the district thus created were very nearly
coincident with those of the present district of the " public schools of the city of
Battle Creek." At the annual meeting in the following year the sum of two
thousand dollars was voted for building purposes, but after the tax was partly
paid the enemies of the school succeeded in arresting the collection, and in havino-
the money already paid refunded. At the next annual meeting, however, the
money was again voted, and in 1850 the building was erected. It was a brick
structure, forty by sixty feet, three stories high, and cost six thousand dollars.

At the annual meeting in 1868 an effort was made to raise money — this time
sixty thousand dollars — for a new house on the site of No. 1, but without success.
But the old building, which had done so good service for twenty years, had now
become so dilapidated that action could not be delayed much longer, and in 1869
a resolution, offered at an annual meeting, authorizing the trustees of the graded
and high school of the city of Battle Creek to issue the bonds of the district for
seventy-five thousand dollars, for the purpose of erecting a new school building on
the site of the original building, was carried by a large majority. At a subse-
quent special meeting plans for the building were decided upon, the board of
trustees was made the building committee, and in March of the next year ground
was broken for the new structure. The work was pushed rapidly forward, and
on April 10, 1871, the building was opened for school purposes. A view of this
building, together with a detailed description, will be found on page 86. Competent
teachers were employed, and the schools in all the departments moved forward
with healthsome vigor. At about the same time, the schools were incorporated
by a special act of the legislature, under the name of " The Public Schools of
the City of Battle Creek."

* See early Jiistory of Battle Creek.

86

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

In the spring of 1875 the high school was recognized as a preparatory school
by the University of Michigan, and its graduates are now received into that insti-
tution without examination. The first graduating class, consisting of two mem-
bers, Misses Ella E. Badgley and Estella L. Campbell, graduated in 1869. The
whole number of graduates to the present time is ninety-four. The whole num-
ber enrolled for the present year is one hundred and fifty-six.

The museum in the central building now contains several thousand specimens,
and is receiving constant additions. It is a valuable aid in teaching and an object
of interest to the general visitor. The school library now contains about two
thousand volumes, and is being rapidly enlarged by means of the income of the
Denman fund. This is a fund of ten thousand dollars bequeathed to the public
school library in 1875 by the late Henry B. Denman, the income of which is to
be perpetually devoted to the purchase of books for the library. It will enable
the schools of Battle Creek to possess, in a few years, one of the finest libraries
in the State.

THE CENTRAL BUILDING.

The central school building was erected in 1870-71. It is three stories high,
with a basement ; is built of brick and cut stone, and is roofed with slate. The
whole building, outside of walls, is ninety-six and a half by one hundred and
nineteen and a half feet. Measuring from the water-table, it is fifty-three feet
to the top of the wall-plate, one hundred and twenty-four to the top of the cupola,
and one hundred and thirty-three to the top of the vane. It has three entrances : one,
the main entrance, in
front, and two in the

rear. On the first __ __ __

floor are seven school- \z ~~ ~

rooms, three in each _— - -~ _ _ _ - _

end of the building, =-- i^^- ---# __=.---__

and one behind the £ _7^^ V

main entrance and be- .?- " ~~ ~~ - __ -

tween the two halls
running to the rear.
These rooms are
twenty-five by thirty-
five feet, and alto-
gether seat four hun-
dred primary pupils.

On the second floor
are seven school rooms
and the ofiice of the
superintendent. The
rooms are of the same
size as those below,
are appropriated to
the grammar school
grades, and will each
seat forty-two pupils,
or two hundred and
sixty-four in all.

The high school de-
partment is upon the
third floor. On it

are two school-rooms, seating one hundred and forty-two pupils, three recitation-
rooms, a music-room, a library, and a museum. The seating of the building at
present is, therefore, eight hundred and forty-six ; but can easily be increased to
over nine hundred.

In the basement are the laboratory, the engine-room, and two dining-rooms, for
the use of those pupils who, living at a distance, cannot go to their homes and
return between the morning and afternoon sessions.

The building is warmed by steam, and thoroughly ventilated by a seemingly
perfect arrangement of heated flues, which secure for all the rooms a constant and
rapid introduction of pure, and expulsion of impure, air.

On each floor are ample cloak-rooms, in which are hooks for every pupil, num-
bered to correspond with the seats.

Water, both for washing and drinking purposes, is furnished in the rear halls
on each floor. The windows are provided throughout with inside blinds.

The whole interior wood-work is finished without paint, showing the natural
color and grain of the wood, which is ash, except the doors and blinds, which are
pine. In a word, the building, in its arrangements, its adaptation, and finishing,
is exceedingly convenient and beautiful. Value of building and grounds, one
hundred thousand dollars.

ward no. 2.
This building is located on Green street, and was erected in 1857. It is two
stories high, the main building being fifty-three by thirty-two feet, with projections
on either side ten by twenty-six feet, for the entrances, halls, and stairways. It
contains four school-rooms, with a seating capacity of two hundred and twenty-five.
The building is of brick, on a foundation of rubble stone ; the roof and cornice of
modern style, and surmounted by a cupola. A basement under the main building
affords room for a year's supply of fuel and other necessary fixtures. Value of
building and grounds, fifteen thousand dollars.

ward no. 3.
This building is located on Champion street, and was erected in 1861. It is
thirty-six by forty-four feet, two stories high, with a basement, each story contain-
ing two rooms and a hall. It has seats for one hundred and seventy-five pupils.
The building is of brick, with iron trimmings, and a heavy projecting cornice with
brackets. The outline of the roof is broken in front by an ornamental pediment,
the whole crowned by a cupola. Value of building and grounds, fifteen thousand

dollars.

ward no. 4.

This building is located on Lydia street. It was erected in 1866, and is thirty-
two by forty-two feet, with a projection in front twelve by thirty-two feet for the
entrance hall and stairways. It is of brick, two stories high, with rubble stone
basement, iron trimmings, bracketed cornice, and a cupola. It has four rooms, with

seats for two hundred
pupils. The front out-
line is broken by the
projecting entrance
hall, and the sur-
mounting pediment
and roof intersect the
main roof at the base
of the tower, giving
the building a hand-
some appearance.
Value of building and
grounds, twenty thou-
sand dollars.

CENTRAL SCHOOL BUILDING, BATTLE CREEK

BOARD OF EDUCA-
TION.

Walter W. Wool-
nough, president ;
Charles E. Thomas,
secretary; Myron H.
Joy, treasurer ; John
M. Galloup, Albert
H. Geddes, Zeno
Gould.

The standing com-
mittees of the board
for the present year
are as follows :

School Buildings, Grounds, Janitors, and Supplies. — Gould, Geddes, Joy.

Text-Boohs, Course of Instruction, and Teachers. — Joy, Thomas, Galloup.

Auditing and Finance.— Galloup, Thomas, Gould.

Rules, Regulations, Apparatus, and Furniture. — Thomas, Woolnough, Gal-
loup.

Library. — Geddes, Joy, Woolnough.

TEACHERS.

I. L. Stone, A.M., Superintendent.

High School. — W. H. Townsend, A.B. (Latin and Greek), Principal ; Helen
B. Muir (Higher Mathematics), Preceptress; Flora Woodward, English and Math-
ematics ; Libbie M. Barber, English and Mathematics ; Josie E. Chamberlain,
English and Mathematics ; Camilla W. Haentzsche, German.

Grammar Schools. — Mary Welch, No. 1 ; Katie L. Haug, No. 1 ; Hattie L.
Frey, No. 1 ;• Carrie F. Frey, No. 1 ; Flora Mechem, No. 1 ; Jennie Sprague,
No. 1 ; Josie Onderdonk, No. 2 ; Emma Hubbard, Principal, No. 3 ; Lenna D.
Warriner, Principal, No. 4.

Primary Schools. — A. Therese Wilder, No. 1 ; Gertrude A. Kinsley, No. 1 ;
Sara E. Farman, No. 1 ; Anna C. Timpson, No. 1 ; Evelyn A. Warriner, No. 2 ;

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

87

Mary F. Mott, No. 2 ; Jennie B. Gough, No. 2 ; Eveline G. Lewis, No. 3 ; Lil-
lian Rowley, No. 3 ; Ella Skinner, No. 4 ; Frankie E. Crum, No. 4 ; Librarian,
Therese French. ,

STATISTICS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 1875-76.

Population of the district , 5,581

Number of children between five and twenty years of age 1,591

Cash valuation of school property $150,000.00

Assessed valuation of district property 1,100,900.00

Cost of superintendence and instruction 12,250.00

Amount paid superintendent 1,700.00

Amount paid special teachers

Cost of incidentals (including repairs, fuel, and janitors) 4,427.48

Amount paid for bonds and interest 10,500.00

Amount paid for permanent improvements 153.23

Primary Grammar
Department. Department.

Enrollment (including transfers) 918 489

Average number belonging 502.82 325.53

No. of men teachers, including super-
intendent

Number of women teachers 11 9

Cost of education per capita for inci-
dentals 4.62 4.62

Total cost of education per capita 14.10 16.99

Average per capita cost for the whole

school

Number of non-resident pupils 5 24

Balance on hand from last year

Amount received from interest on permanent funds

Taxation

Amount received from tuition fees

Total receipts

High School
Department.

192
128.57

1.2
4.5

4.62
31.27

Totals and
Averages.

1.599
956.92

2
25

4.62

59

17.42

88

$4,979.16
797.00

26,000.00
905.31

32,681.47

The following table shows what studies were taught in the High School, with
the number of pupils in each :

Studies. Boys.

Reading ... 54

Spelling 78

Arithmetic 51

Grammar and Composition 33

Algebra 51

Geometry 9

Astronomy 6

Physiology 9

Botany 14

Rhetoric 16

Writing 27

English Literature

Natural Philosophy 34

Book-keeping 19

Chemistry.... 4

Geology 6

General History 21

Government of Michigan 9

Latin 15

Greek 6

French 2

German 9

Natural Philosophy 2

The following table exhibits the enrollment by grades :

HIGH SCHOOL.
Boys.

12th year grade x 4

11th " " 19

10th " " 27

9th " " 27

Total.,

.77

8th year grade.,
7th " " ..
6th " " .,
5th . " " .,

GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.
Boys.

, 50

31

54

Total 203

PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
Boys.

4th year grade 85

3d " " 65

2d " " 118

1st " " 84

Total 352

Girls.

9

19

25

58

111

Girls.
57
50
51

82

240

Girls.

89

68
107

92

356

Total enrollment, not including transfers 632

Girls.
83
110
85
61
94
10

6

9

28
33
59

5
36
10
13
11
27
20
18

"i
13

Total.
13

38
52

85

188

Total.

107

81

105

150

443

Total.
174
133
225
176

708

Girls.

707

Total.

137

188

136
94

145
19
12
18
42
49
86
5
70
29
17
17
48
29
33
6
4
22
11

Average 1
18.2
17.7
16.2
15.4

Average Age.
15
13.4
13.0
11.7

Average Age.
10.4
9.4

8.3

6.8

Total.
1,339

Subjoined are the different studies in the grades below the high school, with

the number of pupils in each :

Reading and Spelling 1152

Written Arithmetic 649

Mental Arithmetic 255

Numbers 530

Grammar 113

Elementary Grammar 146

Geography 336

Primary Geography 299

Writing 811

United States History 96

Elementary Physics 116

Elementary Botany 295

Object Lessons 397

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.

There is nothing more indicative of the prosperity of a place than its manu-
facturing interests ; and basing the present activity and the prospective future
development of Battle Creek, as a manufacturing centre, upon its natural advan-
tages and eligibility, and upon the enterprise of its citizens, very promising re-
sults are manifest. The most prominent manufacturing establishment in the city
is that of

NICHOLS, SHEPARD & CO.,

the proprietors of the " Vibrator" thrashing-machine works. It is generally appre-
ciated by the farmer that the thrashing-machine is one of the most important ,
articles of farm-machinery that the inventive talent of the age has produced. Its
province and distinctive field is to secure to the farmer and grain-grower the net
results of many months of patient toil. Hence the manufacture of this essential
adjunct of agricultural industry, and that too on a scale proportionately un-
surpassed in the country, is an honor of which Battle Creek feels justly proud.
The nucleus around which this extensive establishment has developed was a com-
paratively small works located in West Canal street, originated by Messrs. Nichols
& Shepard in 1848. A remarkable feature connected with its growth and
progress is the fact that it has been continuous for twenty-nine years, there hav-
ing been no change in the firm nor no essential alteration in the class of manu-
factures, except so far as the advancement in mechanical science demanded.

An extended visit to the establishment of Messrs. Nichols, Shepard & Co., for
the purpose of writing a description of their works, enables us to submit to our
readers and their posterity the subjoined account :

As above stated, the works were originated by the present senior members of
the company in West Canal street in 1848. There they flourished until 1869,
when they erected their present works, which are located at the junction of the
M. C. and C. and L. H. railroads. We first called at the office, which is a sub-
stantial building, as nearly fire-proof in its construction as possible. It is forty
feet square, and, like the other buildings, is of brick. In it are the main office,
located- on the first floor, and several other rooms necessary for the transaction
of the official business of the establishment. It is furnished with a fire-proof
vault, in which are the safes, wherein are kept the books and other valuables
of the company. Here several clerks are employed, and an admirable business
system is observable in every department.

The building first reached after leaving the office is the foundry, which is one
hundred and twenty feet in length and eighty feet in width, with walls eighteen
feet high, surmounted with an elevated roof, which is supplied with windows, so
that the workmen are supplied with a plenitude of light and air not generally
the case in similar establishments. Into the foundry is brought the pig-iron,
which is there cast into the different parts necessary for the iron-work on the
machines.

To the left of the office, and next on our way from the foundry, is a large
T-shaped structure, which contains several departments. Its entire length is
three hundred and fourteen feet, and its width fifty feet. First in this comes the
iron machine-shop, into which the rough castings are brought from the foundry,
and by means of a great variety of the latest improved machinery are prepared
for their intended use. It is no exaggeration to state, relative to the multitudi-
nous array of machinery found in this building, that it is equal to that of any
manufacturing establishment in this State, and excelled by few, if any, similar
institutions in the Union. Adjoining the above, and divided from it by a brick
wall and connected by iron doors, is the wood machine-shop, where the immense
quantity of lumber — two million feet being used annually in the manufacture of
the " Vibrator" — is taken in the rough as it comes from the Michigan lumber
regions, and is here converted in the necessary sizes, shapes, and degree of finish
requisite for the parts of the thrasher for which it is to be used. This room is
furnished with every conceivable machine for the careful preparation of lumber
for plain or ornamental work. Here are planers, matchers, tenoners, mortisers,
and other apparatus, with all the modern adjuncts of improvement and extra
facilities for rapid and perfect work. In the wheel-room alone two men are
enabled to turn out forty or more wagon-wheels per diem. Adjacent to this is the
belting department, where the large amount of belting required for the machines
is manufactured from the raw material.

In the engine-room, which is near the room last described, can be seen the
motive-power which runs the machinery of the establishment. The engine is of
one hundred and ten horse-power, and was manufactured by C. H. Brown & Co.,
of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and is certainly an admirable piece of mechanical
workmanship, and without a superior in the northwest.

The boiler-room, which is next adjoining, contains two boilers of sixty-inch
diameter and eighteen feet in length, with sixty-six three-inch flues. These are
from the well-known works of John Brennan, of Detroit, and are made of Lake

88

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Superior charcoal boiler-plate iron, which is the best for the purpose in use. In
connection with this is the fuel-room, which is especially noticeable from the fact
that by a very ingenious arrangement it is made the receptacle of the shavings
and refuse from the wood machine-shop, which are conveyed into it through a large
tube, the necessary force for the purpose being furnished by a fan kept in constant
motion by the same power which the fuel is used to create. It may also be noted
here that the entire establishment is heated by steam furnished also by the boilers,
and conveyed by pipes throughout the different shops.

Among the accessories to and located not far from the iron machine-shop is a
separate building erected for use as a blacksmith-shop, which is one hundred and
sixteen by forty feet, and, like all the other buildings, is remarkably well lighted.
The necessary draught for the forges is furnished by machinery. The shop is
also supplied with improved shears and punches, the former being used for cutting
the material and the latter for punching the numerous pieces of iron required in
the construction of the machines.

Next comes the setting-up room, which is conveniently located, and is one
hundred and fifty by fifty feet. Here the various parts of the machine are laid
together, piece by piece, until the powerful instrument, which is to accomplish
the work of a thousand flails, stands complete, a marvel of mechanical excellence
and economy.

The paint-shops are buildings — one of which is one hundred and ten by fifty
feet, and the other eighty by forty feet — where the process of painting the
machines is accomplished, after which they are removed to the warehouse and
storage-room, which is the largest single structure on the grounds, being two hun-
dred and fourteen feet long and one hundred and seven wide, and four stories
nigh. This building has a capacity for storing eight hundred machines, and when
well filled presents a fine display of Battle Creek industry.

The steam fire-engine house is quite a necessary institution. It contains a
complete Silsby rotary fire-engine, supplied with water from an artesian well. It
is connected with the engine proper of the establishment during the day, and at
night is usually kept fired up, so that in a few seconds it can be utilized. On
the grounds are five hydrants, of two streams each, so that from ten to twelve
streams can be put in play very shortly in case of fire. The engine-house is of
brick, and has a galvanized-iron roof. All the rest of the buildings have gravel
roofs.

The grounds, including the buildings, lumber-yard (in which are kept seven
million feet of lumber), and depot, occupy ninety -seven acres. The company have
a private locomotive for the transfer of freight, and, in fact, have every facility
for the systematic and perfect conduct of their mammoth business.

In 1869 the old firm of Nichols & Shepard was incorporated under the title of
" Nichols, Shepard & Company." The first ofiicers were : President, John Nich-
ols ; Vice-President, H. H. Taylor, of Chicago ; Superintendent, David Shepard ;
Secretary and Treasurer, E. C. Nichols. The present ofiicers are: President,
John Nichols ; Vice-President, David Shepard ; Secretary and Treasurer, E. C.
Nichols.

The company have a capital and surplus of eight hundred and forty thousand
dollars, and employ two hundred and fifty hands, with an annual pay-roll of one
hundred and forty thousand dollars.

The development of so extensive an industry required vast enterprise, great
energy, and unremitting industry, coupled with executive ability of no mean order.
Those who are acquainted with the management of the "Vibrator" Thrashing-
Machine Company require no assurances from us as to the possession, by its mem-
bers, of all the qualities above enumerated. A residence of thirty years in Battle
Creek, and a close identification during that period with its material progress and
industrial growth, insure a reputation as enviable as it is well deserved. In every
State in the .Union, and wherever the agriculturist plies his vocation successfully,
the "Vibrator" is used, and wherever used it stands pre-eminently meritorious.

THE BATTLE CREEK MACHINERY COMPANY.

This concern was started as an agricultural works, by D. B. Burnham, in 1854.
The class of manufactures was changed gradually from agricultural tools to wood-
carving and other machinery. In 1873 wood-sawing machinery and horse-power
and the " Boult's patent moulding-machine" became special articles of manufac-
ture by the firm. On the 1st of May, 1873, the present company was organ-
ized under the corporate title of " The Battle Creek Machinery Company," with
a paid-up capital of thirty -five thousand dollars. It had in view the more exten-
sive manufacture of the " Boult patent" moulding, paneling, dovetailing, and
other similar machinery. They now employ twenty-five hands. The first and
present ofiicers of the company were and are as follows : President, William
Andrews ; Vice-President, J. M. Ward ; General Manager, D. B. Burnham ;
Secretary and Treasurer, Frank Beach.

THE UPTON MANUFACTURING COMPANY.

In 1861 the firm of J. S. Upton & Co. was established, for the purpose
of manufacturing the " Michigan Sweepstakes" thrashing-machines, and com-
menced business on their present stand the same year. It continued as at first
formed until 1858, when the title was changed to Upton, Brown & Co., which
was composed of J. S. Upton, Wm. Brown, Wm. Brooks, and Parley Upton.
They transacted a moderately successful business, finding sales for their ma-
chines in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Michigan. In 1869 they
erected a large two-story brick building in addition to those they had, which is
now used for the manufacture of their wood-work. In 1867 a stock company
was formed, and the old firm was merged into " The Upton Manufacturing Com-
pany," its present title. It has a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, and
employs about seventy-five men. President, James S. Upton ; Secretary and
Treasurer, Henry M. Strong. Besides the " Sweepstakes," they now make a
specialty of the " Combination," a machine patented during the present year (1877)
by J. S. Upton.

R. B. MERRETT.

The firm of which Mr. Merrett is now the sole proprietor was established in
1.871, and then and up to 1874 consisted of himself and L. C. Kellogg (now city
recorder). After the retirement of the latter, Mr. Merrett continued the business
alone. He now manufactures portable, stationary, and self-propelling agricultural
implements, and is also a general jobber in brass and iron castings, mill-gearing
and shafting. Capital invested, twenty thousand dollars ; hands employed, twenty.
The works occupy the former location of Nichols & Shepard's old place.

LATTA & SHUPE.

The manufacturing establishment now operated by the above firm was started
in 1872 by Beauregard & Matthews, and continued by them until January 18,
1875, when the present proprietors came into possession. They manufacture all
kinds of agricultural implements, making a specialty of the " Champion Culti-
vator," on which they have taken two premiums at State fairs (Michigan and
Wisconsin), and at nine county fairs in Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York.
Their capital is twenty-five thousand dollars, and they employ on an average
twenty hands.

ADAMS & SMITH'S

is the oldest establishment for the manufacture of carriages and wagons in the

city, having been started in 1845. In 1850 they erected their present works,

near Hart's Mills.

E. clapp & SON

is perhaps the most extensive carriage- and wagon -manufactory in the city. It
was established by E. Clapp, the senior member, May 11, 1848, and was continued
by him alone until 1876, when he took his son, William Clapp, into partnership
with him. In 1860 the blacksmith- and paint-shop was built, and in 1868 the
carriage- and wagon-factory as it now stands. The capital invested is thirty-five
thousand dollars ; hands employed, twenty-five.

MASON, RATHBUN & CO.

established themselves in the general lumber and planing business here in 1868.
The firm then consisted of Messrs. W. H. Mason, A. V. Powell, and F. W. Kath-
bun. Mr. Powell has since retired. Capital invested, twenty thousand dollars ;
hands employed, ten.

BUCK, HOYT & CO.

Messrs. Darwin D. Buck and J. G-. Hoyt commenced the furniture business in
September, 1866. They were by no means strangers in the city, as they had for
some ten years previously been engaged as builders, and were well and favorably
known. In October, 1868, H. B. Denman was admitted as a partner, and re-
mained in the concern until his death, in 1875. The surviving partners pur-
chased his interest and continued business under the old firm-style. Their factory
is on West Canal street, and their warerooms 108 Jefferson street. They are the
most extensive furniture-manufacturers and dealers in the city.

S. L. BADGSLEY

is the proprietor of the Battle Creek tannery, which was established in 1846.
We learn from Charles S. Gray, Esq., one of the original owners of it, that it was
erected by himself and John Palmer, in the spring of the above year. It was the
first in the place. The first hide was tanned in July, and the first proceeds were
from a hide that cost one dollar and fifty cents, occupied four days in tanning,
and was sold for six dollars. Small profits and quick returns. It was purchased
by the proprietor of the old mill since rebuilt by Titus & Hicks, and used for
elevator bucket belts. In January, 1847, Mr. Gray sold his interest to John

Residence or Leopold Werstein, battle creek, mich.

J.M. WARD A SONS MILL * WAREH OU S E r BATTLE CREEK,M/c*.

BffANCH Warehouses at BeugvuE,CLimAx, Vicksbur* fAAncnms, Edwardsbupig, Michigan-

to-

st
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■m

m

o:S£

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

89

Palmer. In 1848 he bought it back again, and Palmer sold his half to Hiram
Dorman. In 1849 they sold the establishment to A. D. Hunger, and he to
Oakley & Wheeler, and the latter his share to S. L. Badgsley. In 1867, Mr.
Oakley retired, leaving Mr. Badgsley the sole proprietor. W. H. Barber, the
present foreman, has worked in the tannery since 1847. Capital invested, twenty-
five thousand dollars ; hands employed, six. The establishment is noted for its
neat and cleanly appearance.

The manufacture of cigars is quite an industry of Battle Creek. The three
principal manufacturers are :

L. B. CLAPP,

who established his factory, which is No. 81 of the third revenue district, in 1870.
He manufactures about one million annually. He employs about twenty-five
hands.

A. M. MINTY,

proprietor of factory No. 436, established his business in 1871. He annually
manufactures about eight hundred thousand cigars, and employs twenty hands.

B. VAN PRAAGH
first started on a small scale in 1868. He now operates factory No. 438, and
makes about five hundred thousand cigars a year. He employs from six to ten
hands, according to the demands of his business.

GRIST-MILLS.

The pioneer grist-mill of Battle Creek was that erected by Almon Whitcomb,
in September, 1837, and which stood on the site at present occupied by the Star
mills of Titus & Hicks. The same year Alonzo Noble and E. Pratt purchased a
one-half interest of Mr. Whitcomb. On the 1st of March, 1839, Esco Pratt sold
his interest to John Cox, and he, on the 5th of May, 1845, to William B. Palmer.
December 1 of the same year Whitcomb & Palmer sold to Nelson Benham, who,
on the 19th of May, 1846, sold to John Henry, and he again to Benham same
year, and he to William Moore, November 26, 1849, and William Moore to
Almon Whitcomb, and so on through about a dozen different hands until Decem-
ber 8, 1852, when Ellery Hicks bought a half-interest in it, and the water-power
of Chester Buckley, May 25, 1859. R. F. Titus purchased the remaining half-
interest of Chester Buckley, and formed a copartnership with Mr. Hicks, under
the firm-style of Titus & Hicks. In 1862, Mr. Hicks died, and his son, Wm.
E. Hicks, one of the present proprietors, succeeded to his interest. In 1868 Mr.
Titus died, and his interest fell to his son, Samuel J. Titus. The title remained
the same under the new proprietorship.

The old mill has been replaced by a substantial white brick building thirty-
five by sixty feet, and three stories high, with a basement, having four run of
stone, which are run by three iron wheels, — two Eclipse and one Leflel. The
business for the year 1876 was custom of all kinds, seventy-five thousand bushels
and merchant, three thousand barrels.

There are two other grist-mills now operated in the city, namely, those of
J. M. Ward and Thomas Hart, brief notices of which we append, as follows :

ward's mills.
Among the prominent grain-dealers of this city and county is the firm of J.
M. Ward & Son, proprietors of the Ward mills and grain warehouses of Battle
Creek, Bellevue, Climax, Brady, Marcellus, and Edwardsburg. Mr. J. M. Ward
came here as early as 1845, and embarked in the woolen business in company
with Charles Mason. In 1860 the old woolen-factory was repaired and converted
into a flouring-mill, which was the nucleus from which their now extensive busi-
ness grew. In 1871, Charles A. Ward, son of the original proprietor, was ad-
mitted into the concern, and its present title assumed. They now transact a
business amounting to one million five hundred thousand bushels per annum, and
are among the most extensive buyers in the county, and compare favorably with
the largest in the State.

hart's mills.

This mill was erected in 1847, by Messrs. Hart, Ellis & Co., but was destroyed
by fire in 1849. In 1850, it was rebuilt by Jonathan Hart, by whom the same
was successfully operated until 1857, when his son, Thomas Hart, the present
proprietor, became a partner, and the style of the firm was changed to J. Hart &
Son, and so continued until the death of the senior partner in 1858, since which
time the business has been conducted by ex-mayor Thomas Hart alone. The
business of the mills for 1876 was thirty-five thousand barrels. They are exclu-
sively devoted to merchant work.

GEORGE E. HOWES

is connected with N. Hellings & Bro., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the business
of storing and preserving fruit on the cold-air plan. For this purpose the firm erected
12

in 1875 a commodious stone building one hundred and thirty by fifty feet and
two stories high. In this building apples and other fruit can be kept for two
years ; although the aim of the firm is not to carry it over from one season to another.
This is a new thing for this part of the country, and is deserving of mention.

Battle Creek has eight hotels, namely, the Potter House, American, Brierly,
Bristol, Battle Creek, Waverly, Railroad, and Crane House. Of these, the
principal and best hotel is the

POTTER HOUSE,

erected by Henry Potter, the present owner and proprietor, in 1869. It is a
fine four-story red brick building, having large and airy rooms, and a cuisine .
unsurpassed by any house on the railroad between Kalamazoo and Jackson. It
enjoys an extensive patronage, and is first-class in every particular. Henry Pot-
ter, proprietor ; George Potter, manager ; and James North, clerk.

THE BATTLE CREEK HOUSE

is a temperance hotel, and is conducted by J. K. Leavens, a gentleman remarkably
well qualified to manage a house of public entertainment.

The rest of the hotels are generally well managed and largely patronized.

RAILROAD FACILITIES.

Perhaps the most important factor in the business development and prosperity
of a city is its railroad communication. At least, it is safe to assert that such
has become a demonstrated fact with regard to Battle Creek. A retrospection of
her history since the advent of railroad facilities will convince the careful observer
of the immense benefit resulting from the introduction of this essential adjunct
of commercial enterprise.

Theoretically the construction of railroads may meet with opposition on the
hypothesis that, by taking the farmer's produce, as it were, from his very door, he
can send it to the highest market, and thus deprive a few local buyers of the
margin they had been accustomed to make on the same products heretofore. Prac-
tically, though, the increase in general trade constitutes a triple recompense for
the imaginary deprivation above instanced. We here insert brief historical
sketches of the railroads centering in this city.

THE MICHIGAN CENTRAL RAILROAD.

This great railroad thoroughfare was completed at Battle Creek in December,
1845. It remained the terminus of the road for a brief period, when it was
completed through to Kalamazoo during the following winter. The first engine
that ran over this part of the road was the " Battle Creek," and it was a day of
great rejoicing when the " iron horse" came thundering into the depot. This
road has proved a great stimulus to the the growth and prosperity of the city.
The number of its connections puts Battle Creek in communication with all the
important business centres of the east and west. There are stations on the road in
this county at the following places, viz. : Marshall, Marengo, Albion, Ceresco, and
Battle Creek.

We are indebted to Mr. 0. Waters, freight and passenger agent, for the fol-
lowing statement of the passenger and freight business for the year ending
December 31, 1876: freight forwarded, 55,544,215 pounds; freight received*
22,515,672 pounds; freight passenger earnings, $40,569.

THE CHICAGO AND LAKE HURON RAILROAD

is organized by the consolidation of the several companies which were instituted
under various charters by the Peninsular Railway company; with the old Port
Huron and Lake Michigan railroad, which was finally consummated July 30, 1873.
In order to follow the various organizations it will be necessary to commence with
the original " Peninsular Railway company," which was organized August 30,
1865, with powers to construct a railroad from Battle Creek to Lansing, with
the following board of directors : Leonidas D. Dibble, Joseph M. Ward,°Elijah
W. Pendill, and William Wallace, of Battle Creek; Martin S. Brackett and Reu-
ben Fitzgerald, of Bellevue; Joseph Musgrave, D. P. Webber, and Cyrus Cum-
mings, of Charlotte ; and George N. Potter, of Benton. At a meeting of the
board held September 7, 1865, L. D. Dibble was elected president. Subsequently
the " Peninsular Railway Extension Company" was organized, with authority to
construct a railroad from Battle Creek to the township of Milton, on the Indiana
State line, of which, also, L. D. Dibble.was chosen president. Soon afterward the
<< Peninsular Railroad Company" was organized, in the State of Indiana, leading
in the direction of Chicago, of which Hon, S. Stanfield was elected president.
Shortly thereafter a charter was granted to the Peninsular Railway company,
running from the western line of Indiana into Chicago. The next step in these
multitudinous railroad organizations was the consolidation of the two Michigan
roads into the Peninsular Railway company. Following this, the roads in Michi-

90

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

gan, Indiana, and Illinois were consolidated into one corporation by the name of
the Peninsular Railway company, of which L. D. Dibble was made president.
Now the organization was virtually complete, and they ceased organizing and
consolidating for a time, and commenced to construct. Ground was first broken
in Battle Creek in the fall of 1866, and the first rail was laid near the works of
Nichols, Shepard & Co., on the 11th of July, 1869. By the summer of 1873,
the road was completed from Lansing to Valparaiso, a distance of one hundred
and sixty-six miles. On the 30th of July of the same year, the Peninsular Rail-
way company was consolidated with the Port Huron and Lake Michigan railroad,
under the title of " The Chicago and Lake Huron Railroad Company," and is
now operated under that title. The Port Huron and Lake Michigan railroad
above mentioned was built by William L. Bancroft, and was managed by him up
to the time of the consolidation, since which time he has been the general mana-
ger of the entire road.

The citizens of Battle Creek voted fifty thousand dollars in aid of the road,
and invested an additional thirty-five thousand dollars in its bonds ; while private
individuals very liberally contributed towards the expenses of its construction.
It has been materially beneficial to Battle Creek, inasmuch as it tended to create
a competition with the Michigan Central in regard to freights, which resulted in
a decline in the freight tariff. There is no doubt but that benefits commensurate
with the enterprise of the citizens in its construction will eventually ensue. The
road, with its various connections, under an economical and experienced manage-
ment, cannot fail to become a paying concern, and a cherished enterprise of Battle
Creek.

In 1874, William L. Bancroft was appointed receiver of the road, and its
business has since been conducted under his receivership.

THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY.

The village of Battle Creek was first surveyed in 1835, by General Ezra Convis,
assisted by John Meachem, Esq., although no regular plat was made from that
survey. During this year Messrs. Joseph, Abraham, and Isaac Merritt, and
Jonathan Hart purchased the interest of General Convis, and the year following,
in conjunction with Sands McCamly, engaged the services of Samuel D. Moore,
a practical civil engineer, to re-survey the village, and to draft a plat of the same,
which was accordingly done. Two years afterwards the village contained a popu-
lation of about four hundred. It had six stores, two taverns, two saw-mills, two
flouring-mills, two machine-shops, one cabinet-manufactory, two blacksmiths, and
several other representatives of a mechanical and business character. In fact,
appearances went to show that the citizens had done what they could, if not to vie
with, at least not to disparage the natural advantages the place enjoyed ; all and
everything, in short, of their handiwork betokened the activity and ingenuity,
the thrift and enterprise, of a richly-endowed class of people.

The village remained without a charter until 1850, when it was organized and
legally incorporated as a village. The subjoined are the names of the presidents
and clerks who served under the village charter :

Presidents. — William Brooks, Charles Mason (two years), Edward Cox, M.D.,
R. T. Merrill (two years), Chester Buckley (two years), Jonathan Hart, Leander
Etheridge (appointed the same year, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of
Mr. Hart).

Clerks. Isaac C. Mott, Dwight May, Leonard H. Stewart (two years), Charles

S. Gray (resigned July 13, 1854), Eli L. Stillson (appointed to fill vacancy),
• Joseph Dodge, William F. Neale, Cornelius Byington, Wm. F. Neale.

In the winter of 1859 the citizens felt as though the size, enterprise, and im-
portance of Battle Creek deserved higher corporate honors, and therefore called a
public meeting to consider the expediency of procuring a charter and city gov-
ernment. At this meeting a committee was appointed to draft a charter for the
city, consisting of Leonidas D. Dibble, Myron H. Joy, and Walter W. Wool-
nough. The act incorporating the city was passed by the legislature, and
approved February 3, 1859, and in April of the same year the first election for
city officers ensued. W T e annex a list of the mayors and recorders, from the first
city election to that of April, 1877, inclusive :

Mayors. — E. W. Pendill (three years), Alonzo Noble, Chester Buckley, E. W.
Pendill, Tolman W. Hall, Theron H. Tracy, Erastus Hussey, William Wallace,
Thomas Hart (two years), Nelson Eldred, George N. Wakefield, Edward Cox,
M.D. (two years), Victory P. Collier, Charles Austin (two years), present
incumbent.

Recorders*— William F. Neale (two years), Paul Geddes, H. H. Hubbard
(two years), Paul Geddes, H H. Hubbard (four years), Paul Geddes, Charles H.
Padskin, Charles S. Gray, (three years), Maurice H. Neale, Charles S. Gray (two
years),: L.C.. Kellogg, present incumbent.

* Also ex-ojicio school inspectors and city clerks.

The city contains four sections of land, two of which — 1 and 2 — were formerly
included in the village and township of Battle Creek, and two — 6 and 7 — in the
township of Emmett. It is divided into four wards, and is governed by a mayor,
recorder, and eight aldermen — two from each ward.

The present city officers are : Mayor, Charles Austin ; Recorder, L. C. Kellogg;
Aldermen : First ward, C. B. Thompson and Parley Upton ; second ward, Zeno
Gould and Henry H. Brown ; third ward, Charles F. Bock and Charles F. Wal-
ters ; fourth ward, Clement Wakelee and Thomas Jennings ; Treasurer, Maurice
H. Neale ; Supervisor, F. H. Rathbun ; Marshal, Allen Morse ; Justices of the
Peace, Tolman W. Hall, Moses B. Russell, and Charles Rowe ; Constables, Mon-
roe T. Bartlett, James H. Kraft, Alexander H. Briggs, Erastus Clark ; Night
Police, Jerome Angell.

CITY HALL.

In 1867 the common council of the city of Battle Creek voted twelve thousand
dollars, in bonds of the city, to be used for the purpose of erecting a city hall.
The building, which is of brick, and three stories high, was completed in 1868.
The first floor is occupied as a fire-engine house ; the second floor contains the
council chamber, police office, and recorder's court-room, and other rooms of minor
importance, while the third story consists of a large hall used for caucuses and
other public meetings. The building is surmounted by a tower, in which a bell
is to be placed at no distant day.

In the rear of this building is the city jail, which is not a very handsome struc-
ture, but doubtless good enough for the present requirements of the city. Mis-
demeanors are rare in Battle Creek, and criminal offenses still more so.

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.

Among the institutions that have redounded to the honor of the city have been
its fire-companies. The original Tempest, No. 2, hand-engine company, was or-
ganized August 2, 1856. On that day a public meeting of citizens was held to
organize a fire-company. Chester Buckley presided, and L. H. Stewart acted as
secretary. A temporary organization was perfected by the election of N. Fillio as
foreman ; V. P. Collier, assistant ; and L. H. Stewart, secretary. At a meeting
of the company, held August 12, the following gentlemen were elected permanent
officers, and "Tempest" selected as the name of the new company: Foreman,
John Nichols; First Assistant, John J. Wheeler; Second Assistant, George
Hyatt ; Third Assistant, W. G. Morehouse ; Secretary, N. Fillio ; Treasurer, V.
P. Collier.

From that time until the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion this company
maintained a leading position among the volunteer fire-companies of Michigan.
The company took part and won victories in the old-time State tournaments.
Among the names on the old roll are many who are now prominent business men
of the city : Y. P. Collier, John Nichols, E. C. Nichols, L. H. Stewart, W. W.
Woolnough, William H. Neale, David Shepard, W. G. Morehouse, George W.
Hyatt, S. S. French, M.D., James B. Rue, C. Wakelee, Thomas Hart, Peter L.
Conine, James C. Halladay, M. Adams, John W. Smith, P. H. Barnes, B. P.
Gardner, W. H. Green, C. C. Beach, W. E. Wicks, Theo. Wakelee, J. G. Hoyt,
H. Frensdorf, G. P. Burrall, and others.

The first to enlist from this city in the war were many of the most active mem-
bers of the company. Among those of " Old No. 2" who distinguished themselves
in the rebellion, and lost their lives in the battle-field, were Colonel L. H. Rhines,
Major George C. Barnes, Major C. Boyington, Captain George C. Knight, Lieu-
tenants Charles Galpin, George Hicks, M. Fish, and Sergeants Martin Wager and
Richard H. Freeleigh.

This company has had two hand-engines destroyed by fire by the burning of
their engine-houses. The machine " run" by the present company was purchased
by the common council, second-hand, of the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and
was known in that department as " J. S. Fillmore, No. 6." It is much superior
to either of the preceding ones, and is unsurpassed by any hand-engine in Michi-
gan. During the war the company disbanded, and the present company was or-
ganized March 1, 1872, a meeting having been held at the city hall for that
purpose. John G. Bohnett was chairman, and Andrew H. Phelps secretary.
The following persons were elected officers of the company : Foreman, Charles H.
Jeffers ; First Assistant, James Finley ; Second Assistant, Lewis Williams ; Secre-
tary, H. Phelps; Treasurer, A. A. Ellsworth. The company has gradually in-
creased in strength and efficiency until now it is the model volunteer fire-company
of the State. At the State tournament held at Kalamazoo in 1874 it won the
first prize and the State championship. At the State tournament held at Jackson
in 1875, the company again won the first prize and State championship. They,
still hold the champion banner of Michigan. At the Jackson tournament they
made the remarkable throw of two hundred and twenty-nine feet six and a half
inches, the best horizontal throw ever made by a hand-engine..

The session rooms of the company are the handsomest and best furnished fire-

RESIDENCE or R.CRAWFORD, Battle Creek 7>, Calhoun Co., Mich.

EA.SUMNflf.DEL.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

91

men's rooms in the State. Pictures of fire views adorn the halls, and the room
is filled with firemen's relics and trophies of the palmy days of hand-engines.
The company now numbers fifty members, all volunteers, is well organized, and in
good financial condition. The present officers are : Foreman, J. B. Dolliver ;
First Assistant, U. S. Moore ; Second Assistant, Peter W. Diamond ; Eecording
Secretary, Edgar M. Hidsman ; Financial Secretary, William H. Rowe ; Treasurer^
William H. Bordine.

Union, No. 1. — On the 11th of May, 1863, the common council appointed a
committee with authority to purchase a Button & Blake steam fire-engine. The
committee consisted of Aldermen Chandler Ford, T. Wakelee, J. G\ Hoyt, T. W.
Hall, and C. S. Gray. They reported that they had selected a Button & Blake
engine, weighing four thousand four hundred pounds, which, with a hose-cart and
eight hundred feet of hose, the city could purchase for five thousand dollars. The
committee were authorized to buy the same. An informal ballot was then taken
as to the name to be given to the engine, and " Union," suggested by Alderman
Hall, was chosen out of half a dozen. The present Chief Engineer is William H.
Mason ; Assistant Chief Engineer, A. B. Powell ; Engineer, G-eorge Eldridge ;
Foreman, Charles S. Mason.

The Goguac Hook and Ladder Company was organized in December, 1874,
by electing N. A. Osgood, foreman ; James Caldwell, first assistant ; V. C. Wattles,
second assistant; and B. T. Skinner, secretary and treasurer. The company is
equipped with one thirty-foot practice ladder, one scaling and two extension
ladders, and eight Babcock extinguishers. On the 4th of July, 1876, they won
the Centennial prize of fifty dollars in a tournament with the Rescue Hook and
Ladder Company, of Marshall. The present membership of the company is
thirty. Present officers: N. A. Osgood, foreman; A. M. Phillips, first assist-
ant; Gren. Macard, second assistant, and T. B. Skinner, secretary and treas-
urer.

Altogether, the city is well supplied with fire-companies and the necessary
facilities for extinguishing conflagrations.

BANKS AND BANKING.

Banking is a system established for the security of business and commercial
transactions. It is the recognized agent between borrower and lender, and for
convenience and safety is indispensable. The finances of a community are repre-
sented to a great extent by their respective banking establishments ; hence, any
data pertaining to the banks and banking of a particular community form an in-
teresting item in its history.

We annex a brief historical sketch of the three banking establishments of the
city, together with a statement of their financial condition at the close of business
on the 1st of May, 1877.

THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK

was organized March 28, 1865, and commenced business on the 1st of April fol-
lowing. The first officers were Loyal C. Kellogg, president; Charles M. Leon,
cashier; Henry S. Brooks, teller. The first board of directors was composed of
David Miller, William Andrus, Thomas Hart, Loyal C. Kellogg, Henry D. Hall,
William Wallace, and William Brooks. The present officers are V. P. Collier,
president; C. Wakelee, vice-president; Wm. H. Skinner, cashier; Scott Field,
teller; James Boughton, book-keeper. The directors elected at the last annual
meeting are V. P. Collier, Clement Wakelee, E. C. Nichols, W. H. Skinner,
William Merritt, Samuel Con vis, and Henry McNary.

The financial status is shown by the subjoined statement, which we here take
occasion to remark is first-class : capital, $100,000; surplus, $45,000; independent
department, $111,353; national circulation, $90,000; loans, $188,156; govern-
ment securities, $100,000.

THE CITY BANK OF BATTLE CREEK

was organized and incorporated under the State banking law, in March, 1871.
The first officers were — President, K. Kingman ; Vice-President, Nelson Eldred ;
Cashier, R. P. Kingman. The first board of directors consisted of B. Kingman,
Nelson Eldred, C. Wakelee, J. F. Moulton, R. P. Kingman, E. W. Pendill, and
Alonzo Noble. The present management is as follows : President, Nelson Eldred ;
Vice-President, R. P. Kingman; Cashier, B. F. Skinner.

The financial status of the establishment is shown by the following legally
authenticated statement, published January 1, 1877 :

Resources. — Loans and discounts and accrued interest, $152,260 ; overdrafts,
$3675; due from banks and bankers, $59,124; furniture and fixtures, $2800;
fractional currency, $430 ; legal tender and bank notes, $25,714; total, $244,003.

Liabilities. — Capital, $50,000 ; surplus, $28,348; deposits, $163,155; dividend
account, $2500 ; total, $244,003.

A. C. HAMBLIN, BANKER,

established himself in the private banking business in 1859. Good for one hun-
dred cents in the dollar.

BATTLE CREEK POST-OFFICE.

The post-office at Battle Creek was established in 1832, and Polydore Hudson
was appointed the first postmaster, under Andrew Jackson's administration. The
office was kept in Mr. Hudson's log house, and the rate of letter postage was
twenty-five cents. The following table gives a list of all the postmasters from
1832 to 1877, inclusive, together with the administration under which they were
appointed :

Postmaster. Year. Administration.

Polydore Hudson 1832 Andrew Jackson.

Nathaniel Barney 1834 Andrew Jackson.

Sands McCamly 1835 Andrew Jackson.

John L. Bolcomb 1841 Martin Van Buren.

Alonzo Noble 1845 .James K. Polk.

Leon H. Stewart 1849 Zachariah Taylor.

Alonzo Noble 1853 Franklin Pierce.

William S. Pease 1858 James Buchanan.

William M. Campbell 1858 James Buchanan.

George Mead 1860 James Buchanan.

Tolman W.Hall 1861 Abraham Lincoln.

Edward Van DeMark 1866 Andrew Johnson.

Chandler Ford 1867 IT. S. Grant.

James S. Upton 1869 U. S. Grant.

D. V. Bell 1871 U. S. Grant.

Capt. William Wallace 1871 U. S. Grant.

The gross amount of business transacted at this office for the year ending April
1, 1877, is represented by the following figures :

Receipts on postage, etc., $13,880.51 ; expenses, including postmaster's salary,
$6453.97; net income, $7426.54; number of money-orders, 3760; amount,
$42,212.43; fees on same, $436.05; drafts on postmaster at New York, $11,800;
total receipts, $54,048.48.

Disbursements : 3416 money-orders paid, $50,130.09 ; 26 orders repaid, $240.85 ;
money-order expense account, $275.54; amount remitted to Detroit, $3150 ; bal-
ance on hand, $252 ; total, $54,048.48.

Number of registered letters originally mailed, 525 ; number of registered letters
delivered, 1558 ; registered packages distributed, 1568 ; registered packages re-
ceived, 3126; letters received and delivered, 219,848; letters mailed, 265,655;
postal cards, 50,794 ; newspapers, 443,014 ; second-class matter mailed, 37,646
pounds ; postage on the same, $885.15.

Officers: William Wallace, postmaster; James Ferguson, assistant postmaster;
John K. Lotridge, mailing-clerk; Miss Alice Wallace and Philo D. Ferguson,
clerks.

THE OPERA-HOUSE.

One of the chief attractions of Battle Creek is its commodious opera-house. Up
to 1868 the city possessed no regular place of amusement of sufficient size to in-
duce large first-class theatrical troops to visit the city. In that year, however,
Mr. A. C. Hamblin, with his characteristic enterprise, erected a handsome and
substantial building, which he fitted up in elegant style, and introduced in it all
of the modern improvements and stage effects. The ceiling is beautifully frescoed,
and the general arrangement of the seats is made with a design to the comfort of
the audience. The auditorium is seventy-two by one hundred feet, and, with the
gallery which surrounds it, has a seating capacity for twelve hundred,. The house
was erected at a cost of forty thousand dollars, and is used for any legitimate amuse-
ments. In addition to the opera-house, Mr. Hamblin erected the " Peninsula
block," and several private houses, and has done much towards the development
of the city.

GOGUAC LAKE.

Away back in the misty past, ere the pioneer settler had penetrated the wilds
of the primitive forest, or had planted his home on the beautiful prairie, the lovely
body of water called by the Indians Cogh-wa-giac, and by the first settlers
Gogoguae, and now Goguac lake, — was known and cherished by the aborigine.
Situated in a region unrivaled in the fertility of its soil and the beauty of its
landscape, no wonder that the children of the forest selected it as a suitable spot
to build their mound and to erect their wigwam. Traces yet remain, undefinable
except to the eye of the antiquarian, perhaps, of an Indian mound, located in the
sinuosity of the lake's border, directly west of Ward's island. Tradition has it
that as early as 1833, Dorrance Williams, a pioneer whose memory is kept green
by the number and peculiarities of the law-suits in which he was engaged, was
seen one day by the watchful Indians desecrating their mound by digging therein
with a spade, in order to gratify his -curiosity as to its contents. The red-
skins waxed exceeding wroth, and it must have been an imposing spectacle to
behold the wrothy Indians haranguing the frightened desecrator in their flowery
language. It was here, perhaps, that he was addressed by the dusky orator, who,
as the poet says, spake, —

92

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

" Hos docet ore facilis natura diserto,
Linguae grande loquens est idioma suae."

" With native eloquence their speech abounds,
Untaught by figures grand, and lofty sound."

However this may be, it is an historical fact that Williams became so deeply im-
pressed with the angry gestures (the language he didn't fully comprehend), that
he dropped his spade, and for the space of " twelve moons" Goguac and its vicinity
saw him no more. He went east, doubtless adapting the old aphorism to his in-
dividual case, that the preservation of his top-knot was the first law of (his) nature.

Over the placid and beautiful water of the lake once glided the bark canoe,
freighted with the noble red man, who amid the sea-like solitude watched his chance
to spear the sportive bass, or catch the graceful pickerel. But the days of his
glory have departed, and the hand of oblivion is stretched forth to close forever
the gates that lead to the memory of his existence. With a long farewell to the
sachem whose nod perchance was the law of his empire, and whose voice was the
oracle of his people, we come down to our time, and view the doings of a people
more enlightened than he, but perhaps less happy.

But a few years have elapsed since Goguac lake became a general pleasure
resort for the people of Battle Creek and other cities within a radius of fifty miles
or more, — since, in fact, the loveliness of the place became duly appreciated. Since
the inauguration of fishing, picnic, and pleasure parties, and the establishment
there of a hotel and a place for the enjoyment of terpsichorean exercises, Goguac
has risen amazingly in the estimation of the seekers after genuine and unalloyed
pleasure.

On the 1st of April, 1875, Mr. B. W. Surley commenced the erection of a
hotel, which two months afterwards was thrown open to the public. It did good
service until the morning of March 22, 1877, when it was totally destroyed by
fire. On the 14th of May of the same year Mr. Surley began to rebuild, and
on the 1st of June following a commodious hall, thirty-two by sixty-two feet, was
appropriately opened by a dance and other festivities ; also a detached building,
twenty-six by twenty-eight feet, and two stories high, which will be used as a
residence for " mine host" and a general dining-room. In this building there
will also be a few spare sleeping-apartments. Mr. Surley contemplates erect-
ing a larger building for hotel purposes next season. The grounds around the
lake are neatly laid off and supplied with croquet sets, elevated seats, boat-house,
where can be obtained row-boats, single or for parties ; a stand for refreshments,
lemonade and cigars, etc., is conducted by Mr. Surley himself, and is first-class in
every particular. The groves on the borders of the lake are shady and of sur-
passing loveliness, and are admirably adapted both by nature and art for picnics
and quiet repose. The fishing is unsurpassed ; while a boat-ride either in a skiff
or in the elegant little steamer, " Lew Clark," is a rare pleasure. Having recently
enjoyed a ride in her, we feel rhythmical, and perpetrate the following :

L— ew Clark, — little steamer on Goguac's fair lake, —
E — ver tenderly cherished for fine trips she can make,
W — e can always rely on ease, comfort, and care, —
C — onvenience too, — and a sweet, balmy air.
L — et us view all her beauties, inspect well her deck,
A — nd her engine once view, neat and clean without speck.
" R, — ightful pleasure," her motto, she ne'er will discard :
K — ept all things in order, and no comforts debarred.

Another institution which is closely identified with Goguac lake is the

GOGUAC BOAT-CLUB,

which was organized July 24, 1873, and incorporated April 24, 1876. It has
eighteen active members and a commodious boat-house on Ward's island, a con-
venient body of land in the northern end of the lake. They own and man the
following boats: ten-oar barge, " C. A. Ward," length fifty- two feet, beam fifty-
five inches; four-oar paper shell, " A. W. Field," length forty-one feet, beam
seventeen and one-half inches ; four-oar paper shell, " Perhaps," length forty-three
ffeet, beam twenty inches ; double-scull, no name, length thirty-five feet, beam six-
teen inches ; single-scull, no name, length twenty-nine feet, beam ten inches ;
single-scull, no name, length twenty-nine feet, beam ten inches.

The club has a well-equipped gymnasium and club-room, in the Riley block
Battle Creek, in which the members meet for business and to practice in the winter
season on a hydraulic arrangement, which gives all the motions of rowing and
develops the muscular organization. The present officers of the club are : President,
Br. T. W. Robertson ; Vice-President, C. H. Hinman ; Secretary and Treasurer,
W. IL Eldred ; Captain, C. W. Brown. The above, with H. H. Hubbard, E.
H&rbeek, and Scott Field, compose the board of managers required by the State
law.

The boys have been successful in several contests of skill, notably in the north-
western regatta, held at Toledo, Ohio, in 1874, in which they rowed against the

boat-clubs of that city, 6 vs. 10, and no allowance of time. They carried off the
prize, — two statuettes and a silk pennant, — which, with other trophies, decorate
their club-room.

As an evidence of the moral, material, and social progress and importance of
Battle Creek, we may mention that it has six churches, denominationally classified
as follows : one Methodist Episcopal, one Congregational and Presbyterian, one
Baptist, one Episcopalian, one Baptist (colored), and one Catholic. The pulpits
of these various denominations are generally filled with able and eloquent divines
and preachers.*

Battle Creek has three banks and banking-houses. It has a large number of
manufacturing establishments, of which Nichols, Shepard & Co., the Upton Manu-
facturing Company, and the Battle Creek Machinery Company are among the most
extensive. It has three large grist-mills, namely, those of J. M. Ward & Son,
Thomas Hart, and Titus & Hicks. There are ten dry-goods stores, of which
those doing the largest business are T. B. Skinner & Co's., Wakelee & Griswold's,
Austin & Hoffmaster's, Stebbins & Coon's, and B. F. & H. T. Hinman's. There
are fifteen groceries, the representative firms in this line being S. W. McCrea &
Co., Leon & Jennings, J. A. Yan Yalkenburg, T. Wakelee, C. R. Thompson,
Powell & Hodskin, J. C. Halladay & Co., and the Grange co-operative store. It
supports four drug-stores, namely, those of Grandee & Hinman, E. L. Jones &
Co., John Helmer, and Holton Bros. It has three jewelry establishments, — Os-
good & Chapin, Galloup & Hollister, and A. W. Avery. There are six boot- and
shoe-stores, of which J. M. Caldwell & Son, Neale Bros., J. R. Godsmark, and
T. J. Hazard & Co. are the most extensive. Of hardware-stores there are two,
namely, Brock & Peters and Wattles & Wood ; and the same number of furniture-
stores, those of Buck, Hoyt & Co. and Henry Gilbert. The ladies are supplied
with millinery by fourteen establishments, those of Misses Hodges & Wells,
Mrs. Baldwin, Clara S. Shepard, and Mattie Lewis being the largest. The gentle-
men are called upon to patronize seven gent's furnishing-goods stores, of which
J. M. Caldwell & Son and Parker & Helmer are representative firms ; also six
merchant tailors, of whom George C. Morrow, Henry Brown, and C. F. Zang
are the principal ones. There are three stationery-stores, kept by F. E. Peasley,
H. J. Johnson, and E. R. Smith, respectively. There are two photograph gal-
leries, those of Theron Crispell and Spencer L. Miller. The " staff of life," and
the concomitant luxuries of confectionery and ice cream, are supplied by C. B.
Welsh & Co., J. H. Scott, and J. F. Gillman. Many of the above establishments
occupy large and spacious edifices, and contain stocks of goods that will success-
fully compete with any in the State, outside of Detroit.

The educational and literary institutions of the city are among the finest in the
State. There is a graded high school which ranks among the first in Michigan,
and occupies a building surpassed by none in this or neighboring counties.
There are three secondary and primary schools. Here also is located the eollege
of the Seventh-Day Adventists, together with a good commercial college. It has
four ably-edited and well-conducted newspapers. It has a large number of secret
and benevolent societies, among which might be mentioned one lodge of Free
and Accepted Masons ; one chapter and one council of Royal Arch Masons. It
has one lodge and one encampment of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows,
one Rebekah Degree lodge of the same order ; and one tribe of the Improved
Order of Red Men. It has a lodge of the Independent Order of Knights
Templar, a Ladies Library Association, a Hibernian Society, a well-organized
Young Men's Christian Association, and other similar institutions too numerous
to mention.

Among the prominent professional men of the city are Drs. E. Cox, S. S. French,
J. H. Wattles, A. S. Johnson, M. W. Tomlinson, T. W. Buthrick, and T. W. Rob-
ertson. The legal fraternity is largely represented, among its principal members
being Dibble, Brown & Thomas, Myron H. Joy, Alward & Harris, N. H. Briggs,
and others.

The location and business facilities of Battle Creek are not surpassed by any
other town or city of like population (seventy-five hundred estimated) in the State,
and the abundance, cheapness, and quality of its domestic market make it de-
sirable as a manufacturing or retiring locality. It is gradually becoming a promi-
nent railroad centre, being in direct communication with Chicago and all points
intermediate and beyond on the west ; with Detroit and other points east ; with
Lansing and other important places northeast, and with South Bend, Valparaiso,
and other points southwest. It is within easy communication, also, with the
lakes, from any port-tqwn on which steamers run regularly during navigation,
touching at all the principal points on the entire chain.

Among the distinguished men who have made Battle Creek their place of resi-
dence are Hon. Benjamin F. Graves, one of the judges of the supreme court;
Hon. Victory P. Collier, ex-State treasurer ; Hon. P. H. Emerson, supreme judge

* See history of the churches.

*£^VSW7W

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

93

of Utah Territory, and Hon. George Willard, who represented this (the third)
district in the forty-third and forty-fourth Congress of the United States.

The salubrity of the climate and the plenitude of pure water render Battle
Creek a peculiarly healthful place, while the large volume of running water fur-
nished by the Kalamazoo river and Battle creek tends to make the place comfort-
ably cool, besides supplying as fine a water-power as is found in the State. The
industry and enterprise of the citizens have done all they could, if not to vie with,
at least not to disparage, the many natural advantages of the place ; all and every-
thing, in short, of man's handiwork, as exhibited in the number and variety of
the manufacturing and business interests of the city, betokens the activity and
ingenuity of a tasteful and richly-endowed class of people.

SECRET AND BENEVOLENT SOCIETIES.*

Battle Creek Lodge, No. 12, F. and A. M. — This lodge first worked under a
dispensation granted on the 14th of April, 1846, in a back room of the office
then occupied by Messrs. Campbell & Cox, and there matured the plans which
caused the standard of the order to be planted in the place at that early day.
The altar was first erected on the 22d of December following, in an unfinished
room of a building which occupied the present site of Noble's block. The
charter was granted on the 14th of January, 1847. Among the charter members
of the lodge were Silas Cox, Colonel John Stuart, Chalett Cady, Warren Joy,
Charles L. Bird, Thomas Dunton, G. P. Smith, Eli L. Stillson, William Hicks,
Charles Bartlett, and Charles Mason. A portion of the money donated to pro-
cure the dispensation was contributed by Brothers Sibley, Tillotson, Pratt, Kaer-
stadt, and Ketchum, of Marshall. Of the eleven charter members only three
survive, Brothers Bartlett and Mason. The first officers of the lodge were
Charles Bartlett, W. M. ; Charles Mason, S. W. ; Silas Cox, J. W. The present
officers are Brainard T. Skinner, W. M. ; Michael Rainbow, S. W. ; Miles Wil-
letts, J. W.

Chapter No. 19 was chartered January 14, 1858. The officers elected at the
first meeting were Leonidas D. Dibble, H. P.; Edward Cox, K.; Justin P.
Averill, S. The present officers are Charles Austin, H. P. ; Darwin D. Buck,
K. ; Marcus C. Shaffer, S.

Zahud Council, No. 9, was chartered January 14, 1861. The charter mem-
bers and officers were Ebenezer Sprague, Beverly Beardsley, Justin P. Averill,
Theron H. Tracy, William Brown. The present officers are A. B. Powell, T. I. M. ;
Darwin D. Buck, D. M. ; Marcus C. Shaffer, T. C. of W.

All the above Masonic bodies are in a prosperous and flourishing condition.

Battle Creek Lodge, No. 29, I. 0. 0. F, was instituted under a dispensation,
November 11, 1847, by Hon. Isaac E. Crary and Dr. Hahn, of Marshall, and
worked under the same until January 20, 1848, when the grand lodge granted a
charter, under which it worked successfully until January, 1857. For the space
of nearly two years it ceased to work, but was again resuscitated October 12, 1859.
Among the charter members at the institution of the lodge were L. H. Stewart,
who was elected N. G. ; Joseph Burnton, Y. G. ; G. B. Thayer, Sec'y ; Wm.
Brooks, Treas. ; E. Cox, Warden ; and Eli L. Stillson, Con, The present officers
of the lodge are as follows : Edwin Van Horn, N. G. ; J. F. Miller, Y. G. ; H. A.
Culver, Sec'y ; Charles H. Crawford, Treas. ; Wm. M. Russell, Per. Sec. The
appointed officers are Geo. P. Burrows, Warden ; Thomas M. Taylor, Con. ; Wm.
D. Parker, I. G. ; E. B. Russell, 0. G. ; J. M. Galloup, R. S. N. G. ; Richard
Mockmore, L. S. N. G. ; William Adams, R. S. Y. G ; H. Cooper, L. S. Y. G. ;
Wallace Hoyt, R. S. S. ; W. Pierce, L. S. S. The society now numbers one
hundred members. The amount of aid rendered by it during the past year was
two hundred dollars.

Sprague Encampment, No. 23, was instituted under a dispensation May 27,
1867, and chartered by the grand encampment January 15, 1868. The charter
members were B. F. Fairchild, A. A. Whitney, A. E. Kocher, A. C. Culver, C.
H. F. Kraft, George P. Burrall, Simeon S. French. The first officers were B.
H. Fairchild, C. P. ; Simeon S. French, H. P. ; C. H. F. Kraft, S. The
present officers are John F. Miller, C. P. ; Charles H. Canfield, H. P. ; Moses
B. Russell, S. W. ; Eli W. Flagg, J. W. ; Wm. H. Bordine, S. ; Thomas N.
Taylor, T.

Friendship Lodge, No. 1, Degree of Rebekah, was organized March 11, 1869,
with the following officers : B. F. Fairchild, N. G ; Mrs. Helen Bidwell, Y. G. ;
Mrs. A. N. Cooper, S. ; Mrs. Abbie R. Flagg, T. ; Mrs. G. Lewis, P. S. The
present officers are Eli W. Flagg, N. G. ; Mrs. Libbie Flagg, Y. G. ; Mrs.
Charles Grodevant, S. ; Mrs. S. P. Perkins, T. ; Mrs. Abbie R, Flagg, P. S.

Moguago Tribe, No. 10, I. 0. of R. M., was instituted through the efforts
and encouragement of J. Y. Johnson, P. S. of Sawba tribe, No. 9, of Charlotte,
now editor of the Ingham county Democrat. A meeting was held at the law-

ns' Gleaned from an address delivered by Dr. A. T. Metcalf.

office of Dibble, Brown & Thomas, May 12, 1875, at which Frank W. Clapp
presided and Charles S. Marr acted as secretary. It was decided to organize a
tribe of the Improved Order of Red Men on the eve of the 20th, and the name
of "Moguago" was selected in honor of old John Moguago, a Pottawatomie
chief who lived on the reservation in the township of Athens. At this meeting
the following gentlemen were elected chiefs of the new tribe : H. H. Brown, P. ;
Frank W. Clapp, S. ; Wm. H. Bordine, S. S. ; Chas. E. Barnes, J. S. ; Chas. S.
Moore, C. of R. ; E. H. Perry, K. of W. Another informal meeting was held
at the law-office of Joy & Clapp, May 10, and on May 20 Moguago tribe was
instituted in the Patrons of Husbandry hall, by Chiefs Wm. H. Palmer, S. Mus-
liner, and E. Hamilton, of Cayuga tribe, No. 6, of Jackson, assisted by Chief
J. Y. Johnson, a delegate from Sawba tribe, No. 9, of Charlotte. The tribe
held its councils in the Patrons of Husbandry hall until January, 1876, when
they removed to their present wigwam, on the third story of No. 4 East Main
street, where the first council was held on the evening of January 17. The
tribe now numbers fifty members, has a pleasant and commodious wigwam ,
and is in a prosperous condition. The council-fire is kindled on the "second
sleep" of each " seven suns," at the seventh run" and " thirtieth breath." The
following are the present chiefs : Charles S. Mason, P. ; Monard Lafever, S. ;
W. W. Briggs, S. S. ; James H. Gridley, J. S. ; Charles Yan Yalin, C. of R. ;
A. M. Minty, K. of W.

Hesperian Lodge, No. 78, I. O. of G. T., was originally chartered January 30,
1860. After running for a number of years the interest in it began to wane, and
in the fall of 1876 its members disbanded. In February, 1877, it was resusci-
tated, and recommenced work under the old charter. The present officers are :
J. F. Raynes, W. C. T. ; Mrs. O. Harris, W. Y. T. ; J. B. Ellsworth, W. S. ;
Conrad Hulscher, W. F. S. ; Thomas G. Iden, W. T. ; William P. Milliman, W.
M. ; Miss C. Harris, W. I. G. ; T. W. Case, W. O. G. ; Mrs. A. A. Manchester,
W. C. ; Jesse Farrington, P. W. C. T. Present number of members in good
standing, about two hundred.

The Young Men's Christian Association was originally organized February 17,
1867, and after existing a few years succumbed for the want of financial aid, and
died a natural death. July 17, 1876, the present society was organized by the
State agent, Mr. Weidensall, when the following officers were elected : President,
E. Clapp ; Yice-President, L. A. Foote ; Secretary, Martin E. Brown ; Treasurer,
O. W. Bailey. The original charter members other than the officers above
named were William T. Skinner, D. Landreth, F. H. Latta, C. Hulscher, E.
Shupe, and J. Miller. From an original membership of ten the society has steadily
increased until it now numbers fifty-seven. Its present officers are : President, F.
H. Latta ; Yice-President, L. A. Foote ; Secretary, Martin E. Brown ; Treasurer,
0. W. Bailey. The association conduct mission services in the country school-
houses, and hold street-preaching during the summer. During the past winter
they conducted one of the best courses of lectures ever held in the city. They
are perfectly non-sectarian, and are strictly a Christian layman's society banded
together for effective work. They sustain a reading-room, and are engaged in a
most worthy cause generally.

The Hibernian Benevolent Society was organized January 11, 1871. The first
officers were : John Murphy, president ; James Willis, vice-president ; James Dodd,
secretary ; Michael Colvin, recording secretary ; John Hart, treasurer. The society
meets on the fourth Sunday of each month at No. 4 East Main street. The
present officers are : John Murphy, president ; Patrick Brogan, vice-president •
John Dunn, secretary ; Michael Donnelly, treasurer. It has a membership of
about twenty.

The Choral Union, — A society organized January 2, 1877, "for the purpose
of improvement in the knowledge and practice of music," with a membership of
one hundred and thirty, which has since been increased to upwards of two hun-
dred. The first and present officers are : Hon. Charles Austin, president ; M. H.
Neale, vice-president ; B. T. Skinner, secretary and treasurer ; Prof. M. N. Cobb,
musical director ; Mrs. C. A. Ward, pianist. The board of management con-
sists of Messrs. William T. Neale, Charles Peters, E. T. Freeman, H. W. Herns,
and Mesdames A. S. McAllaster, C. E. Bartlett, and F. G. Shepard.

The German Cornet Band was organized January 1, 1873, with a member-
ship of six persons, and has now eleven pieces, as follows : Gustav Brucher,
leader, E-flat cornet; Julius Martin, E-flat clarionet; Elijah M. Dailey, first
B-flat cornet; Fred. A. Allwardt, second B-flat cornet; Conrad Hattendorf,
first E-flat alto (trombone) ; William McDonald, second E-flat alto (trombone) ;
Bruna A. Nisser, B-flat tenor (trombone) ; Wilhelm Burbach, B-flat baritone
(trombone) ; Louis Schlund, E-flat basso ; Edward R. Bartlett, tenor drum ;
John K. Lothridge, basso drum.

MAPLE STREET.

Battle Creek is noted for the beauty of its streets and the general cleanliness

94

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

of its thoroughfares. Among the most beautiful streets in Michigan Maple street
holds a conspicuous position. The number and style of its private residences
are the marvel of the casual visitor and the pride of the city. A notable feature
about the houses is the diversity of architecture exhibited, for there are no two
dwellings on the entire street that have any similarity to each other. This affords
an absence of sameness that is both attractive and unique. Each place has a
neatly-kept lawn and garden, some of which are stocked with rare shrubs and
plants and decked with the choicest gifts of Flora's treasury, while all are supplied
with shade-trees and other evidences of taste and comfort. Among the mansions
particularly worthy of mention we observed those of Messrs. E. C. Nichols, J. M.
Caldwell, David Shepard, John Nichols, J. M. Ward, C. Wakelee, Y. P. Collier,
T. B. Skinner, J. L. Whitcomb, and John F. Hinman.

While Maple street, as a whole, far exceeds any other in the city or county,
yet there are in various parts of the city isolated residences that will compare
favorably with the best of those on Maple. Among these might be mentioned
those of Messrs. Leonidas D. Dibble, Erastus Hussey, A. C. Hamblin, A. Lewis
Clark, Alonzo Noble, Henry H. Brown, W. W. Larmour, and many others.

A neat and ornamental place in the central part of the city is the

VINEYARD AND GARDEN

of A. C. Hamblin, in which he cultivates a variety of grapes, fruits, and vege-
tables. The vines are set out in circles, around a natural mound, and present
quite an attractive appearance.

The revenue of the city for 1876-77 was provided for as follows : by taxation
on property, general city uses, $4630.26 ; streets and bridges, $2400.87 ; fire
department, $1543.46; railroad aid, $17,796.47; schools, $22,789.30 ; total
taxes, $49,160.36. Added to this amount is the amount received from the
specific tax on liquor-selling, $2225, making the total revenue for the fiscal year
now current, $51,385.36.

POPULATION.

In 1860 the population of the city of Battle Creek was returned by the census
at 3508 souls, constituting 734 families, dwelling in 730 houses. In 1870 the
population was returned at 5838 persons, constituting 1234 families, with a
dwelling-house to each. 2854 of the individuals were males and 2984 females.
In 1874 the assessors could not find so many people in the city by some 515 as
the United States marshal reported in 1870, there being but 5323 persons, 2527
being males, and 2796 females. Of the males, 979 were over twenty-one years
•and under forty-five, the military age ; 472 were over forty-five and under seventy-
five, and 24 were over seventy-five but under ninety. 1206 of the ladies were
of the marriageable age, as defined by the social statistician, between eighteen
and forty years ; 605 had passed the latter age and were under seventy-five, while
25 were in the "sere and yellow leaf," beyond the three-quarter mark of the
century. The married and the single formed the following opposing lines: 1121
of the males over twenty-one were heads of families, or had been, while 312 had
never been so blessed, or otherwise, as they might individually view the matter.
1147 ladies over eighteen years were, or had been, in allegiance to the sterner sex,
and 463 of their sisters over the same age had never referred the questioner to
the paternal ancestor, at least successfully.

THE POLITICAL SENTIMENTS

of the citizens of the city are revealed by the tally-sheets of the presidential
elections occurring since the municipality assumed its city government. In 1860,
the vote stood as follows :

Republican. — First ward, 203; second ward, 97; third ward, 140; fourth
ward, 104. Total Republican, 544.

Democratic. — First ward, 101; second ward, 46; third ward, 47; fourth
ward, 41. Total Democratic, 235. Republican majority, 309.

In 1864, the poll lists revealed the following figures: .

Republican.— First ward, 228; second ward, 87; third ward, 121; fourth
ward, 116. Total, 552.

Democratic.— First ward, 96 ; second ward, 49; third ward, 44; fourth
ward, 40. Total, 229. Republican majority, 323.

In 1868, the vote was as follows:

Republican. — First ward, 344; second ward, 95; third ward, 19.7; fourth
ward, 162. Total, 798.

Democratic. — First ward, 147 ; second ward, 61 ; third ward, 52 ; fourth
ward, 60. Total, 320. Republican majority, 478.

In 1872, the vote stood thus:

Republican. — First ward, 294 ; second ward, 93 ; third ward, 150 ; fourth
ward, 171. Total, 708.

Democratic. — First ward, 157; second ward, 61; third ward, 40; fourth
ward, 83. Total, 341. Republican majority, 367.

In 1876, the vote was as follows :

Republican. — First ward, 385 ; second ward, 109 ; third ward, 188 ; fourth
ward, 216. Total, 898.

Democratic. — First ward, 215 ; second ward, 105 ; third ward, 71 ; fourth
ward, 100. Total, 491. Republican majority, 407.

Peter Cooper received 15 votes from his admirers, the " greenback" men. This
last vote — 1404 — would indicate a population of 7000 persons, reckoning five
persons to one legal voter.

IN THE REBELLION.

During the late war, Battle Creek was patriotic, brave, and earnest. Her
Mason, Barnes, Rogers, Preston, Byington, Hicks, and many others bore gallant
testimony, in the face of the foe, to the standard of Battle Creek soldiers, and those
who fell were in the fore front of the charge, leading where danger was most to be
feared. The people faltered not as the long years passed wearily by, but the gaps
in the ranks, made by disease or torn open by shot and shell, were filled and refilled
by the flower of the city, until the bloody and dreadful struggle was over. Then
their shattered columns returned, to settle back again into routine of peaceful
avocations, and fight their battles o'er again by the fireside, or on the anniversary
of their muster-in to clasp again their comrades in fraternal embrace, with the
old warmth gendered on many a bloody field or midnight bivouac.

BATTLE CREEK TOWNSHIP.

The present township of Battle Creek was formerly included in the original
township of Milton, which was regularly organized in 1833, and contained the
area that now constitutes the eight congressional townships of Bedford, Pennfield,
Le Roy, Athens, Burlington, Emmett, Newton, and Battle Creek. The first
township meeting was held at the house of Samuel Convis, who was elected the
first township clerk. No records of the township prior to 1836 exist, but we
find that in that year the following entry was made by Judge T. W. Hall, who
was then township clerk. " The township of Milton as now organized includes
townships Nos. 1 and 2, south of ranges 7 and 8 west, according to the United
States survey, April 4, 1836." It remained as above until 1839, when, by an
act of the legislature passed during that year's session, it was again altered so as
to contain township 2 south of range 8 west (Battle Creek township as at pres-
ent), township 1 south of range 8 west having been set off as the township of
Bedford. No other changes have been effected in the area of the township, except
that caused by the incorporation of the city, which took sections 1 and 12 from the
township and annexed them to the corporation. By an act of the legislature,
approved March 19, 1840, the name of the township of Milton was changed to
that of Battle Creek.

The first settlements made in what now constitutes Battle Creek township were
on Goguac prairie, in the year 1831. It was quite natural that the influx of immi-
gration should concentrate on the easily cultivated and fertile prairie land ; and
so we find that ere scarcely a location was made on the oak openings, or heavily
timbered land, Goguac had become quite a busy settlement.

Among those who were prominent in effecting the early development of this
portion of the township were Josiah Goddard, Isaac Thomas, Uncle John Stewart,
Dorrance Williams, and others.

Josiah Goddard came to Michigan in 1829, and settled in Detroit. We find
that he brought Sherman Comings into the State in the fall of that year. He
drove two fine span of horses before a Pennsylvania wagon, traversing the un-
broken wilderness along the old Chicago trail from Detroit to Ypsilanti, thence to
Jonesville, Sturgis, Bronson's prairie, Prairie Ronde, and Grand prairie, from
which place Mr. Comings came to Toland's prairie.

Mr. Goddard returned to Detroit by the old Territorial route, and was so pleased
with Goguac prairie that he selected it as his future home, made a purchase of
lands, and moved his family there in the fall of 1831, and settled on section 15,
on the farm now owned by David Young. He had been a soldier in the war of
1812, and was in every respect a model and patriotic pioneer. The only near
representative of his family now residing hereabouts is his daughter Mrs. William
Reese, of Battle Creek.

Isaac Thomas came in from New York and settled on section 14 in 1831. He
was an honest and upright citizen, a good neighbor, and a hardy, intelligent
pioneer.

"Uncle" John Stewart, Sr., settled first at Ypsilanti in 1824. His family
consisted of his wife, five sons, and two daughters. He was married three times,
having children born to him by each wife, in all twenty-one, of whom twelve are

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

95

now known to be living. Of those who settled in Battle Creek township, only
John, Joseph W., and Levi remain, the others being scattered all over the Union,
and one, James, resides in Canada.

Dorrance Williams first came here as a surveyor in the employ of the United
States government, in 1828, and assisted in surveying the lands included within
the present limits of Battle Creek township. Having an eye to fertility and
beauty, he selected the northeast fractional quarter of section 14, now owned by
J. F. Foster, and late in the fall of 1831 settled on it. He was a man of pecu-
liar disposition, and perhaps is better remembered as being the participant in
numerous lawsuits than by any other personal characteristic. We quote from
Mr. Van Buren the following description of a scene at a lawsuit in which Mr.
Williams was plaintiff:

" The following nice distinction we have never heard equaled in any court-
room.^ The complainant in a lawsuit in which Dorrance was plaintiff, was testi-
fying, as the latter thought, falsely; this he would not brook, and rebuked him
with < You lie, sir /' Whereupon the court censured Dorrance, saying it could not
allow such language to be used. This put the chivalric bachelor on his dignity,
and he thus explained : ' Your honor, had I said to this man you lie, I ought to
have been fined for contempt of court. But I said, You lie, sir! Which last word
"sir" raised the expression from any vulgar meaning, and instead of slandering
the man I honored him by its use.' The court, no doubt astonished at this pro-
found distinction, waived all censure and proceeded with the trial.'

At one time Dorrance attempted to satisfy his curiosity concerning the Indian
mound in his farm, by digging into it. The Indians, observing him at work on
the mound with his spade, threatened him to such a degree that he was afraid to
remain in this part of the country. He was gone something over a year before
he returned.

A notable acquisition to the settlement of the township arrived in the fall of
1835, in the person of Rev. John Harris. Perhaps to no man in Calhoun County
is its religious development more indebted than to him. He was an earnest and
faithful worker in the Lord's vineyard, affiliated with the Baptist denomination,
but not of that strongly sectarian character that ignores the claims of others to
the benefits of denominational Christianity. He was not only a forcible and
lucid expounder of the Scriptures, and a good preacher, but was also practically
identified with the physical development of the township, as well as intimately
so with the spiritual. He was born in Nassau, Rensselaer county, New York,
September 16, 1790, converted in 1815, and was ordained a minister of the
Baptist church in 1816, and after a faithful ministry, extending over a period of
forty-eight years, he died in the Lord, on the 15th day of October, 1864, rever-
enced by many and esteemed by all who knew him.

Deacon Solomon Case arrived in 1835, but did not permanently settle with his
family until the year following. He was a man well qualified to assume the role
of pioneer, and did much towards the development, both physical and spiritual,
of the then infant settlement. His widow and his son, Thurlow, and daughter,
the wife of Morgan G. Beach, are the only representatives of the family now re-
siding in Calhoun County.

The years 1835 and 1836 were very prolific in arrivals to the township.
Among those coming in as permanent settlers in 1835, were Anson Mapes, who
settled in section 30, where he resided forty years, and died there March 31,
1875 • his widow still lives in the old homestead. Aaron and Bradley Morehouse ;
the former settled on section 26, and the latter on section 35. Asa Langley
came from Kentucky, and settled on section 26. Andrew Reese was born in
West Stockbridge township, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, February 4, 1790.
Was married to Electa Burghardt, July 16, 1812, moved from thence to Berk-
shire, Broome county, New York. In the fall of 1835, he, with his family,
moved to Battle Creek township, from Monroe county, New York, and settled on
the farm which continued to be his home until, his death, September 2, 1875.
His widow still survives, being eighty-five years old. There are also ten children

living.

In 1836, among others, came Peter Dubois, and settled on section 25 ; Fred-
erick P. Peet, on section 14 ; Giles Andrus, on section 11 ; Henry Eberstein, on
section 9 ; William McCollum, on section 26 ; Joseph Young, on the farm now
owned by his son David, on section 15, which he purchased of Josiah Goddard ;
Harvey B. Lewis, on the farm now occupied by his son, Jonah K., in section 25
(1835) ; Deacon Herman Cowles, on section 36, on the farm now occupied by
Egbert Stone ; Dr. John Beach, on the farm now occupied by his widow and
their son, E. Darwin Beach, on section 34 ; Allen Willard, father of Hon. George
* Willard, editor and proprietor of the Battle Creek Daily Journal, who settled a
little north of the farm on which he died in 1876, aged over eighty years.

Henry Thiers located in South Battle Creek, and was one of the early justices
of the peace of the township. Martin and Ephraim Van Buren, sons of Ephraim
Yan Buren, Sr., came in the spring of 1836, and settled on the northwest quarter

of section 21, which the latter had located the year previous. He and his wife
and daughter, Eliza, and son, A. D. P. Yan Buren, now of Galesburg, Kalama-
zoo county, came in October, the same year.

Deacon William Betterly came from western New York, and settled north of
Goguac prairie, in 1836. During the latter part of his life he lived in Battle
Creek, and died there on the 10th of July, 1870.

THE FIRST FARM OPENED

was by Isaac Thomas, and the first soil plowed within the limits of the township
was on this farm, and done by James Simonds, in 1832.
The first grain was also sowed in it in the spring of 1833.

THE FIRST ORCHARD

was set out by Uncle John Stewart, on the farm now owned and occupied by
William C. Foster, in section 14. It still exists, though repeated grafting has
impaired its productiveness.

THE FIRST LOG HOUSE

was erected by Isaac Thomas, in 1831. After building it he returned east for his
family and arrived in his place here the following fall to find that his house had
been destroyed by fire. The accident was caused by the Indians ; whether inten-
tionally or not was never rightly known.

THE FIRST BIRTH

in the township was that of Calhoun Goddard, son of Josiah Goddard, who was
born in a log house which stood on the farm now owned by David Young, in 1833.

THE FIRST MARRIAGE

was solemnized on the same day that Calhoun County was organized, namely,
March 6, 1833. The parties to this interesting coincidental contract were John

Stewart, Jr., and Anser, and the event was celebrated on Goguac prairie.

The parties went to Marshall to be united by General Crary, then a justice of the
peace, but were informed by him that he could not legally tie the knot until they
had procured the necessary license, which could only be accomplished by a journey
to Kalamazoo. Three days were spent in this preliminary, and trien the expec-
tant couple were made one.

THE FIRST DEATH

that occurred in the township was that of Mrs. John Stewart, who died Sep-
tember 17. 1832. Her funeral sermon was preached by Bev. Mr. Hobart, of
Marshall, and was undoubtedly the first religious discourse delivered in the town-
ship.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

Speaking of the settlements on the prairie in 1836, A. D. P. Yan Buren, in his
series of excellent papers on the early history of Battle Creek township, published
in the Battle Creek Journal, says, —

" The day following we passed by Polydore Hudson's tavern at the Gulf, just
east of Battle Creek. Here we took the old road by way of Joe Farnsworth's,
Isaac Tollands, Warren B. Shepard's, and up Conway hill to Goguac prairie.
The first house west of Conway's was Mott's. Dorrance Williams lived on the
south side of his farm, near the woods. The old road formerly went this side of
the prairie. East of him was Daniel Thomas, then Mrs. Peter Michael, in Fred-
erick P. Peet's log house, Uncle Isaac Thomas, his sons, Frank, Hiram, and
Orson, and last, John Stewart, were all on the south side of the prairie. On the
Territorial road, west of Mott's, was first Samuel Gregory's log house, and a log
building on the northeast corner of his farm, tenantless ; then came Bice's, now W.
B. Frink's ; Giles Andrus, where his son Henry now lives, was next ; then Uncle
John Stewart's, in a small frame house, where W. G. Foster now lives. There
was a small log structure just west, on the same side of the road, unoccupied ;
Deacon Joseph Young lived next, in a log house, where his son David now lives ;
Enoch Stewart had a log house on his " eighty," just opposite; Taylor Stewart's
loc house was next, and Ebersteine lived in the log house in the southeast corner
of Andrew Helmer's farm ; Mr. Simonds and his son John lived just north of the
prairie ; and still farther north were Betterly Beese and Shepard, and west of them
were Yan Woert, Moyer, and the Tobys. Crossing the prairie and turning at
Deacon Young's, southwesterly, we drove into the woods, some two miles farther,
and,

' As Twilight let her curtain down,
And pinned it with a star/

we halted before the new log house, our future home in Michigan. We looked
around for neighbors. Nothing visible but the beautiful oak openings ! We were
alone in the silent woods."

96

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

The country improved very rapidly after 1836, and where once existed thickly-
timbered land sprang up fine and well-cultivated farms. For the betterment of
their farms, improved stock and machinery were introduced, the first

IMPROVED STOCK

having been brought in by Judge Eldred, of Kalamazoo, who used to bring in
good graded cattle and sheep, and trade with the pioneer farmers as early as
1840, taking in exchange hogs, which he would ship east. About the same
time Messrs. Joseph Roly, of Genesee county, New York, and John F. Kilkey,
of G-ull prairie, brought in sheep. They used to bargain them off on the basis
of one-half the wool raised, and at the expiration of three years double the
number of sheep received should be returned to them. Money was very scarce
in those days.

THE MANUFACTURING INTERESTS

of the township have been represented by a

SAW-MILL,

erected by Asa Langley, about 1837. He operated it about ten years, after
which it was conducted by a man by the name of Onderdonk, and discontinued
about 1860.

Abraham Minger erected a

GRIST-MILL

in the township at a later day, and although we have endeavored to obtain infor-
mation of it both from him and from the present proprietor, it was of no avail.
All that is known is that it has frequently changed hands, and no one now
knows precisely who owns it.

It will be remembered by some of the old pioneers that in 1838 Major and
Nelson Mott came in and started a settlement, and made some preparations for a
village, to be known as Hamilton. Their efforts were futile as regards the village,
although their laudable endeavor was perpetuated by naming the vicinity
" Hamilton Lane," which it has retained for many years.

THE FIRST STONE HOUSE

was built by Joseph Young, and bears the date " July 4, 1841" on the slabs in
the front wall. It is now owned and occupied by Deacon David Young, son of
the original owner.

THE FIRST BRICK HOUSE

was built by Harriett, widow of Dr. John Beach, in 1849. It has been occupied
by herself and son, E. Darwin, and his family, since its erection.

THE FIRST ROAD

running through the township, or any part thereof, was the the old Territorial
road, surveyed and laid out in this neighborhood about 1831 or 1832.

THE FIRST SCHOOL

was taught on Goguac prairie, in a small log school-house, by Aranthus Thomas,
in 1833 or 1834. Among the first scholars were the Stewarts, Goddards,
Thomases, Conways, and others.

No records exist of the district schools, and no person whom we have interro-
gated on the subject remembers the date of their organization.

RELIGIOUS MEETINGS

by Methodist itinerants were held as early as 1833, notably at the house of Daniel
Thomas, when the Rev. Mr. Hobart, of Marshall, preached the gospel to the
early settlers. Meetings were held quite regularly at the house of Deacon Joseph
Young, in 1836 and 1837. A Rev. Mr. Mason, of the Presbyterian persuasion,
is also remembered by some as preaching among them as early as 1836.

There has been no regularly organized religious society in the township outside
of the city except the

SOUTH BATTLE CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH,

which was organized by Rev. John Harris in 1839, and legally instituted and recog-
nized as a society in 1842. Among the original members were Rev. John Harris,
Deacon Solomon Case, Alexander Dane, Bradley Morehouse, David Fish, Levi
Vedder, and their wives, and a number of others. They first held their meetings
in private houses, and subsequently in the school-house, until 1847, when the
present church edifice, a neat frame structure, was erected, and dedicated to the
service of God the same year. Rev. John Harris was the first pastor, and Solo-
mon Case the first deacon. In 1850, Mr. Harris was succeeded in the pastorate
of the church by Rev. Samuel Jones, who remained with the congregation about

two years. Then Rev. George Hickox succeeded to the pulpit, and occupied it
for three years. In 1855, Rev. T. Z. R. Jones became pastor, and after him
Revs. William Roberts and George Harris. Until recently, students from Kala-
mazoo have officiated, and the church, by reason of deaths and removals of mem-
bers, discontinued their services temporarily. They are now repairing their house
of worship, and will doubtless ere long renew their meetings. For a number of
years Mr. 0. B. Green acted as clerk to the society and church, but removed to
Battle Creek recently, where he now resides.

A Sabbath-school was organized about the same time as the church, and was
sustained irregularly for perhaps a quarter of a century. No statistics of either
the church or Sabbath-school are furnished.

FIRST TOWNSHIP MEETING.

"At a meeting of the electors of the township of Milton, legally held at the
house of Ezra Convis, in said township, on the fourth day of April, one thousand
eight hundred and thirty-six, the following township officers were chosen for the
ensuing year, and the following votes passed, viz.: E. G. Smith, supervisor; Tal-
man W. Hall, clerk; David H. Daniels, Warren B. Shepard, Jeremiah Gardner,
and John H. Michael, assessors; John Farnsworth, collector; Moses Lowell, John
V. Henry, Harvey B. Lewis, commissioners of highways; Joseph Farnsworth,
John S. Holliday, Enoch Stewart, Napoleon B. Harper, constables; Tolman W.
Hall, David W. Howell, Joseph S. Weed, John Balckom, and Asahel Beach,
inspectors of common schools ; Nedebiah Angell, Isaac Thomas, overseers of the
poor; David W. Howell, Polydore Hudson, and Jonathan Thomas, commis-
sioners of common schools; Moses Hall, Cephas A. Smith, Stephen Collins, and
Samuel Robinson, justices of the peace. Overseers of highways for the districts
numbered according to the order of their names: Jeremiah Gardner, Warren B.
Shepard, Moses Hall, John Harper, Samuel Convis, George Johnston, James
Worden, Daniel Thomas, Taylor Stewart, Stephen Gilbert, William D. Eaton,
David W. Howell, William Knowles, Otis Williams, Samuel Robinson, Benjamin
Harper, and John Wolf.

"On motion, it was voted that swine weighing over thirty pounds, horses,
cattle, and sheep be lawful commoners.

" That fifty dollars be raised for the support of the poor the ensuing year.

" That one hundred and fifty dollars be raised for the purpose of building
bridges in said township.

" That the next township meeting be held at the house of Leonard Stark-
weather, in the village of Battle Creek.

" On motion, adjourned.

" Nedebiah Angell, Moderator.
" Samuel Convis, Township Clerk.
"Polydore Hudson, Justice of the Peace."

Supervisors, 1837.— Asahel Beach, Moses Hall, Warren B. Shepard, Sidney
Sweet, Orlando Moffatt (four years), John Champion (two years), Joseph Barton,
John Stewart, Harvey B. Lewis, Abner E. Campbell (six years), John Meachem
(two years), Simon S. French, Otis B. Green (two years), Charles Coy (three
years), Edward White, William Harris (two years), George Bently, Charles
Rowe, Hector Adams, George I. Brown (three years), Abraham Minges (five
years), present incumbent.

Clerks.— Tolman W. Hall, Benjamin Richards, Eli L. Stillson, Isaac Yan De
Bergh, Erastus Hussey (two years), Joseph Barton, Abner E. Campbell, Samuel

C. Merrill, Charles S. Gray (two years), Leonard Stillson, Myron H. Joy (two
years), Joseph Babcock, Leonidas D. Dibble, Justin G. Averill, Eli L. Stillson,
Joseph Dodge, Edwin J. Dickinson, Cornelius Byington, William F. Neale, John
B. Root, Frederick P. Root (four years), Charles Coy, Thurlow W. Case (two
years), Ralph B. Cummings (two years), W. H. Chadwick, Charles Rowe (three
years), Charles H. Joslyn (three years), William J. Forster (two years), present
incumbent.

Justices of the Peace.— David H. Daniels, Heman Cowles, Moses Hall (eight
years), John Meachem, Henry Tears, Cyrus Hewitt (vacancy), Eli L. Stillson
(eight years), Nedebiah Angell (eight years), Elias C. Manchester, Aaron More-
house, Henry Andrus, Benjamin F. Graves (eight years), Simon V. Carr, John
L. Balckom, Samuel S. Jennings, Myron H. Joy, Dwight May, Anson Mapes,
Stephen Gilbert, Henry Andrus, Erastus R. Wattles, Levi Mosher, Solon E.
Robinson (seven years), Henry J. Champion, Edward White (four years), Milton
H. Gregory (three years), Isaac P. Hart (two years), Elijah Trumble, Lewis A.
Nichols, William F. Halladay, Peter Crosby, Warren Frink (vacancy), Isaac P. .
Hart (eleven years), Morgan G. Beach, Barnett Wood, David Young, William
McCollum (vacancy), William Fuller, Abraham Minges, Henry D. Ward, Henry

D. Ward (vacancy), Samuel B. Nichols, Gilbert Warner/Frederick P. Peet,
David Young, Hector Adams (one year), E. L. Jackson, J. B. Ashley, William

E. Fuller, Caleb Boylan (three years), 1877.

ERASTUS' HUSSEY.

MRS. SARAH E. HUSSEY.

Residence or ERASTUS HUSSEY, Battle Creek, Mich.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

97

BATTLE CREEK GRANGE, NO. 66,

was organized September 6, 1873, at the residence of N. and C. Chilson, in the
township of Emmett. The following were the first officers and charter members :

Master, N. Chilson ; Overseer, Charles Merritt ; Lecturer, L. K. Phelps ;
Steward, Chester Chilson ; Assistant Steward, H. L. Munn ; Chaplain, Daniel
Caine ; Treasurer, I. W. Caine ; Secretary, J. A. Robinson ; Gate-keeper, Miles
Townsend ; Ceres, Miss I. Y. Chilson ; Pomona, Mrs. D. Phelps ; Flora, Miss
Delie Chilson ; Lady Assistant Steward, Miss Hattie Robinson ; Mesdames H.
A. Chilson, H. M. Chilson, Myra Caine, P. L. Munn, E. M. C. Merritt, Hattie
Townsend, and Mrs. James Haryhan.

The present officers are — Master, N. Chilson ; Overseer, A. Minges ; Lecturer,
Albert Dickinson ; Chaplain, Mrs. H. B. Hoagland ; Steward, J. M. Paul ; As-
sistant Steward, William Paul; Treasurer, David Young; Secretary, Chester*
Chilson ; Gate-keeper, John Newman ; Ceres, Mrs. A. Minges ; Pomona, Mrs.
D. Simons ; Flora, Mrs. A. Stringham ; Lady Assistant Steward, Miss D. Newman.
The present membership of the grange is one hundred and forty-five. Its place
of meeting is in Grange hall, Finley block, Battle Creek. In January, 1874,
N. Chilson was elected a member of the executive committee of the State grange,

and held the office for two years ; during the last of which he was chairman of
that committee. On the 27th of August, 1874, he was appointed State Pur-
chasing Agent, which position he held until January, 1876. Battle Creek grange
is now in a flourishing and prosperous condition, many of its members taking an
active part in working and deliberations.

GOGUAC LAKE.* '

An interesting feature of Battle Creek township is that beautiful sheet of water
called Goguac lake. The Indian name was Coghwagiac, so spelled in the old
records, Gogoguac, as spelled by the pioneers ; but the latter was anglicized by
the settlers by dispensing with the "go," and the more ancient name lost its
identity. It is located in sections 14, 22, and 23. On its borders once existed
an Indian mound, and it is otherwise worthy of note.

Note. — We are under obligations to the following gentlemen for information con-
cerning the history of this township : Messrs. J. W. and John Stewart, Barnett
Wood, Harvey J. Du Bois, E. Darwin and Mrs. John Beach, and A. D. Van
Buren of Galesburg, Michigan, for many years a resident of the township.

* See a more extended description in the history of Battle Creek city.

BIOGKAPHIOAL SKETCHES.

ERASTUS HUSSEY

was born in the township of Scipio (now Ledyard), in the county of Cayuga,
State of New York, on the 5th day of December, 1800. This part of the State
in that day was mostly an unbroken wilderness, and roamed over by the aboriginal
tribes of the Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga Indians. It was a fair and beauti-
fully romantic country, situated among and around that delightful chain of lakes
interspersing that fair region from Onondaga to Canandaigua, and was very attract-
ive. Although it was on the verge of western civilization, it was much sought
by enterprising and adventurous pioneers in search of new homes in the western
wilderness, and was in that early day denominated " the lake country," and very
appropriately called the garden of the State. On a farm one mile east of the
beautiful village of Aurora, Erastus Hussey was born. Here he spent all of his
early days of boyhood and early manhood. With the placid waters of Cayuga
lake ever in sight, and surrounded by scenery of exquisite beauty, it was no marvel
that the enthusiastic imagination of the boy was captivated, and he pronounced it
the loveliest spot on the face of the earth. Ever since, through a long and event-
ful life, the recollections of those scenes of his boyhood, with the memory of the
innocent and unalloyed pleasures which surrounded him, have brightened his
pathway and cheered him on in the way of his duty.

Surrounded by watchful guardians whose salutary advice restrained him from
dissipation, the innocence of his childhood's days has strengthened his later years,
and will console him as he descends to his last resting-place. His school-day privi-
leges were small. In that new country no graduating honors were bestowed ex-
cept the ticket of merit which was won as head of the spelling-class or the advance-
ment from one primary branch of education to another. These were primitive
days, when the sceptre was held by the country school-master, backed up by the
persuasive eloquence of the birch and ferule, and made tangible in the rude log
school-house where he held absolute sway. In those early and rude times educa-
tion was obtained under difficulties, where only the four fundamental branches of
education were taught. Spelling, reading, writing, and arithmetic were the sum
total of science imparted to students in those log structures, and yet the knowl-
edge thus obtained laid the foundation of enviable fame for many who commenced
their upward march from this low beginning. Under this system the subject of
this memoir received his scholastic education. The saving clause in this district
school-teaching was the requirement of a perfect knowledge of each branch in its
course, with rewards of merit for the victor. And in the races for the prizes he
won his full share. Unfortunately, his time for even these advantages was limited,
for his school privileges seldom extended over three months in the year, and
ceased at the age of fourteen, after which time his services were required on the
farm. Now, what could not be gained in time must be saved by diligence. Every
hour that could be spared from the plow or other farm-labor must be employed in
13

useful study. But he availed himself of another advantage, — he had access to
the Union library situated in the village of Aurora, which was well filled with
standard works of history, travels, and poetry, of which he was a constant reader
and admirer. This course of reading, with the close application to the study of
sacred history, made him a good historical and Bible scholar, as well as inducting
him into the masterly and entrancing beauties of Homer, Milton, Shakspeare,
Ossian, etc.

Thus his time passed, filled up by useful employment, until he arrived at
man's estate, happy in his attainments and in the society of the numerous friends
which surrounded him. Erastus Hussey had now arrived at an age that required
action. He had decided to make agriculture the leading business of his life. He
had long contemplated the means by which he could procure a farm of his own.
He was poor, and it became necessary that he should turn his attention towards a
new country where land was cheap. Already he had visited the Holland pur-
chase, in the south part of Erie county, New York, where many of his friends
resided. But he did not like the country, and could not make up his mind to
make it his home.

He then turned his mind towards Ohio and Indiana, both of which States were
by general report described as desirable and fertile regions, but still he hesitated.
Michigan began now to be talked about. This was a region little known in those
days, and what was known was to its discredit. It was represented on the maps
as surrounded by impenetrable swamps and marshes, while the centre of the Ter-
ritory was described as a desert destitute of water, and the current report was that
it was uninhabitable.

In 1823 a few emigrants removed to the Territory, but some returned, bearing
a bad report. In 1824, Thomas J. Drake, a schoolmate of the subject of this
sketch, visited him. He had just returned from Michigan, and gave a glowing
account of the country. He had located at Pontiac, the county-seat of Oakland
county, where he intended to build up a business. The information of his friend
Drake decided him. It was the first reliable account he had received of the country.
His mind was now made up, and he resolved to take a trip to the peninsular Ter-
ritory. This was in June, 1824, and he immediately began to make preparations
for the journey, and was ready to start by the 1st of September. On a bright
and beautiful morning in that pleasant month he turned his back on the home of
his youth, and went forth to seek his fortune in the wide world alone. No one
of his numerous young friends had the courage to accompany him. Some ex-
pressed a desire to do so, but shrank from fear of the difficulties to be surmounted.
Cheered on by hope and the love of adventure, he made his way on foot to Buf-
falo. Here he went on board the steam brig " Superior," the only one then on
Lake Erie, and sailed from Detroit. On board were a few adventurous spirits,
who were, like himself, seeking homes in the wilderness of the far west. The
weather was fair, and the companionship of the strangers was agreeable and in-

98

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

teresting. Two days and a half were thus spent pleasantly, when the vessel reached
its destination. Here a new prospect opened to the view, such as the new-comers
had never realized, — a land of poetry and of dreams, an antique country in a new
world, — the quaint old city of Detroit, situated on one of the most beautiful rivers
of the world, looking like a beautiful vision in an ancient legend. The little steep-
roofed houses, with their inevitable dormer windows, and diminutive Canada-
French inhabitants, made Detroit attractive and interesting.

This old city on the borders of the wilderness had been the outpost of civiliza-
tion for two hundred years. How many events of its long history have been lost
to the world ! Many reminiscences of hardships and perils are folded away in
the book of time and utterly lost. But still some historic mementos remain. A
part of the old stockade yet stands, such as was used in the days of Gladwin,
the commander and governor of the British fort, such as was used to guard against
the fierce attacks of the hostile Indians, led on by that renowned chief, Pontiac, in
the memorable siege of Detroit in days long since past. A little above the city
was pointed out the battle-ground where the brave Dalzel lost his life in his unad-
vised midnight attack on the fierce marauding bands during the same siege. The
stream still bears the name of " Bloody Run." After viewing many scenes of
interest in and around the City of the Straits, Mr. Hussey, accompanied by
two of his new acquaintances, George Crozier and Thomas Gillett, turned his
face toward the wilderness. At this time, 1824, there were but six organized
counties in the Territory. They took the road leading to Pontiac. After cross-
ing a swamp of some miles in width over " Harrison's old causeway," they came
to a broad, open country of oak openings. Here he met the only two acquaint-
ances he knew in the Territory, Thomas J. Drake, a young lawyer of Pontiac
(afterwards well known as a United States judge of Utah), and Allen Durfee, both
friends of his boyhood. A few minutes' conversation was all that could be spared,
and each went on his way. Pontiac contained only a few houses. The country
around it was entirely new and full of marshes and little lakes. The land did not
please the adventurers, and they went southward into the timbered region. Here
the land was rich and more attractive to the travelers. Fifteen miles brought them
to a rude log house, where Arthur Power had established himself a year before.
A few enterprising pioneers were scattered over this township (now Farmington).
Southwest twenty-five miles was the extreme settlement. One house, surrounded
by a beautiful burr-oak grove and occupied' by John Allen and S. Rumsey, stood
on the bank of the Huron river, where the city of Ann Arbor now stands. All
west to Lake Michigan was an unbroken wilderness. The adventurers were
pleased with this wild region, and penetrated the wilds in search of good loca-
tions. On the second day of special land-viewing Mr. Hussey's companions were
so frightened and disgusted at the discovery of a Massasauger rattlesnake that they
concluded to return ; and failing to persuade him to accompany them gave him a
friendly hand, and with a " God bless you" left him many miles in the wilder-
ness alone. Mr. Hussey met his friend Crozier thirty years after for the first
time, and they had a hearty laugh over the event which caused their separation.
Notwithstanding the solitude of his situation he was* nothing daunted, but, with
bright hopes, was determined to pursue his travels. With the broad country be-
fore him and only a knapsack of provisions, a pocket compass, and hatchet, he
pushed ahead in his enterprise. In this manner he traversed the woods for seven
days. Having beeome satisfied with the fertility of a large tract of country, he
hired a man to accompany him, and took a southwesterly direction into an unex-
plored region. Here he found magnificent land, fertile and attractive, well tim-
bered and watered. Here he determined to stick his stake and make his home.
The farm he selected was nine miles from any inhabitants, and fifteen miles from
a public road. He returned to the settlement that night, and the next day, the
< 9th of October, 1824, went to Detroit and entered one hundred and sixty acres
of land. Major Kearsley, the receiver at the land-oflice, informed him that his
was the second entry in the township, and in fact he was the first purchaser who
settled on his land, in what is now the town of Plymouth, the northwest township
of Wayne county.

Erastus Hussey now considered himself a resident of Michigan. The boat
bound for Buffalo being then in, he took passage on her and- sailed the next day.
He landed at Erie, Pennsylvania, and in company with Luther Landon, an ac-
quaintance from his native town, and, like himself, a land- viewer, left for the
southern part of Erie county, New York, a distance of ninety miles. They
traveled on foot, but, as they had a smooth road and beautiful weather, they did
not mind the fatigue. The first day they traveled thirty miles, and on the next
made a forced march, and traveled sixty miles between sunrise and sunset. Being
now among his friends, and weary and footsore from over-exertion, he was rejoiced
to find a cordial welcome. In this neighborhood he determined to spend the
winter, and took charge of a school for four months. As he had only a shilling
left in his pocket when he arrived here, this gave him an opportunity to recruit
his finances. After spending a pleasant, and as he believed a useful, winter, he

returned to his native place, where he spent the summer in working on a farm.
In June, 1826, he again visited Michigan, found his land surrounded by settlers,
and the country all alive with activity. Immigration was now pouring into the
Territory rapidly. The prospect was encouraging ; he made a small improvement
on his land and returned late in the autumn, when he again took a large school
for four months. On the 21st day of February, 1827, Erastus Hussey was
married to Sarah E. Bowen, the daughter of Benjamin Bowen, of Cayuga county,
New York. She was a young lady possessed of a highly-cultivated mind, and
their attachment was of long standing, having been acquainted from childhood.
This Mr. Hussey looks upon as the most important period of his life, for it gave
him an accomplished companion, who was willing to leave all her refined associates,
and the society so dear to her, and go with him into the wilds of the west, help
him to overcome the privations and surmount the obstacles of an unknown future.
In 1827 Erastus Hussey and his wife left their old home and sorrowing friends,
setting their faces westward with strong hopes and a stronger determination to
face the world and seek happiness in each other's society. His wife was young
and beautiful, scarce beyond her girlhood, only nineteen, and looked too frail and
delicate to be transplanted into so rude a home. But, like a true pioneer wife?
she stood ever by his side, rejoicing in his success and consoling him in his trials.
Ever ready to extend a helping hand, she has been his adviser, counselor, and
stay for more than fifty years ; for the golden era of their married life has passed,
leaving the reflection of uninterrupted domestic happiness. No lightning train
or fast-sailing steamboats were at the disposal of travelers in those days, so the
journey of the pioneers had to be performed on the canal line boat, the lumbering
steamboat, and, lastly, by ox teams, into the interior, where they arrived on the
27th of July, 1827. They occupied a temporary shanty, and suffered much for a
time from sickness incident to the country. Late in the fall the neighbors helped
him roll up a log house, which he finished with his own hands, and moved into on
the 1st day of January, 1828. Thus his home was fairly established, and hope of
happiness in the future more than compensated for all the sufferings of the past.
To add to their happiness, a daughter was born to them this year. She is
their only child, and still lives to comfort them in their old age.

On this farm Erastus Hussey lived for nine years, made many improvements,
and built up a beautiful home, which he sold in 1836. He now traveled two
years in company with his wife and little daughter, to recover his health, which
had become impaired by over-exertion in clearing up his new farm. They jour-
neyed together through Ohio, New York, and New England to the sea-shore, with
their own carriages.

In 1838 he returned to Michigan, and settled at Battle Creek, his present resi-
dence. In religion, he professes the doctrine of the society of Friends, or Quakers,
believing in the " inward light" as taught by George Fox, and that the " grace of
God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto all men." In politics, in early
life he was a Whig, and boasts that he gave his first presidential vote for John
Quincy Adams, " the old man eloquent," and his last Whig vote for William H.
Harrison, in 1840. Having always been a firm believer in the equal rights of
man as put forth in the " Declaration of American Independence," he threw him-
self with his whole soul into the anti-slavery movement. He supported James G.
Birney for president in 1844, and took an active part in every movement to put
down oppression and curtail the slave power. He took stock in the underground
railroad, and managed one section of that celebrated institution. He gave mate-
rial aid to all fugitives from oppression, and declared his hostility to the slave
power publicly and privately without fear or favor. In those days it was a posi-
tion attended with peril, but he considered it a duty that must be performed.
After settling in Battle Creek, Mr. Hussey entered into a mercantile business. In
1843 he took Henry B. Denman as partner, who subsequently married his daugh-
ter. The firm continued a successful business for three years, when they dissolved
partnership, and in 1847 he closed up the business. This year he built two-fifths
of the Union block, the first brick building erected in the village. In the same
year he took charge as editor of the Michigan Liberty Press, — a new paper just
started as the organ of the anti-slavery or liberty party in the State. This paper
had a large circulation, and much influence among the masses.

In 1848 he attended and took an active part in the great Buffalo convention
that called into existence the Free Soil party. In the spring of 1849 the Liberty
Press, with all the materials, was destroyed by fire, and the paper, after issuing a
few numbers at Marshall, was discontinued. In the autumn of the same year Mr.
Hussey was elected a member of the State legislature on the Free Soil ticket.
Here he advocated unreservedly his anti-slavery sentiments, and though in the
smallest minority (there being only four Free Soil members in that Democratic
house), he was treated with marked respect, and often called to preside over the
committee of the whole during that session. Having advanced the cause of free-
dom, as required by his constituents, according to his best ability, he returned to
his home to receive their approval. Here new labors awaited him.

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HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

99

The education of the rising generation had always been an especial object of his
energetic will, and as he was one of the first advocates for the organization of a
Union school in the villages, he was called upon to superintend the erection of a
suitable building to meet the wants of the people. This enterprise was accom-
plished that season. In the fall of 1850 he was elected county clerk, and re-
elected again in 1852, giving him four years of active service. In the summer
of 1854, Mr. Hussey was one of the earnest men who called upon the liberal
element of Michigan to meet at Marshall in mass convention to take into con-
sideration the best means for the protection of liberty against the aggressions of
the slave power. Laying aside all former political preferences, this noble body
of men organized the great Republican party, with a platform broad enough for
all loyal men to stand upon. This convention was held in July. At the fall elec-
tion of 1854, Mr. Hussey was elected to represent his district in the State senate.
This was the first Republican legislature held in Michigan, and was considered an
able body of men. Mr. Hussey acted as chairman of the committee on finance,
and took an active part in all the proceedings during the session. He drafted
and presented the bill known as the " Personal Liberty Bill," which created much
comment and much opposition from the sympathizers of the slave oligarchy. But
the bill received a strong support, and became a law, which saved the State from
further raids of slave-catchers. It was pronounced by Governor Bingham, in his
retiring message, one of the most important laws of the session.

On returning home in 1855, Mr. Hussey commenced building up a new home
in the north part of the city, which he called Oak Lawn, — a beautiful location,
now occupied by the Seventh-Day Advent college. Here he resided with his
family for nearly twenty years. He gave a great deal of time to improving and
adorning his grounds. But still he was deeply interested in the political ques-
tions of the day which so greatly agitated the public mind on the subject of
slavery. In 1856 he gave a cordial support to John C. Fremont, the Free Soil
candidate for president.

Mr. Hussey, in 1860, was sent as a delegate to the Chicago convention which
nominated Abraham Lincoln for president. The decisive action of this conven-
tion, and the liberal and just sentiments announced in its platform of principles,
raised the enthusiasm of the Republican party to the highest degree, and resulted
in the election of its candidates. This so exasperated the leading advocates of
slavery extension that they counseled secession from the government. A number
of the Southern States raised the standard of rebellion, and forced the nation into
a civil war. This inauspicious movement of the rebels compelled the loyal citizens
to avail themselves of every means at their disposal, and to exert all their energies
to subdue the insurrection. The great crisis had arrived. It was now palpable
to every one that the principles of liberty must be maintained or the government
must be controlled by the slave power. To save the republic Abraham Lincoln
issued his " proclamation of emancipation." This act affixed his name to the
highest roll of fame, made him a star of the first magnitude in the constellation
of reformers, and struck the shackles from the limbs of four millions of slaves.
The world stood aghast at this bold policy of the great statesman, but the nation
was saved.

This grand movement brought about the event for which Mr. Hussey and his
co-workers had looked to, and so anxiously toiled for, for more than thirty years.
They had hoped to see the emancipation of the slaves accomplished by peaceable
means, but it was not to be thus disposed of. For torrents of blood must be shed
to expiate the great wrong. The hearts of thousands must bleed for the loss of
their first-born, desolation must sweep over the nation, sorrow and suffering must
go hand in hand through the broad land before the " oppressors would let the
oppressed go free." But the deed was accomplished through bloody struggles,
and the disgrace of the Republic was wiped out. This act of emancipation was
the crowning glory of the friends of liberty, for it raised the nation to the acme
of that perfection desired by the patriots of 1776, and made it the " land of the
free and the home of the brave." Mr. Hussey has given much attention to the
improvement of the city of Battle Creek, and has always labored with time and
money to advance its prosperity. He served as mayor in 1867, and has always
been connected more or less with its municipal affairs. In 1874 he sold his
beautiful home, " Oak Lawn," to the Seventh-Day Advent Educational Society,
and built his present dwelling at the corner of Washington and Manchester
streets. In the summer of 1876 he went with his grandson, Frederick H.
Denman, to Kansas, — that enchanting region of prairies and flowers. Here young
Denman owns large possessions and intends to make his future home. They made
a delightful trip home by the lakes, visiting Milwaukee, Mackinaw, and Detroit on
their route.

In September, Erastus Hussey, in company with his wife and daughter, Susan
T. Denman, left home to visit the Centennial Exposition ; went by the way of
Boston to attend the celebration of the nuptials of their son and grandson,
Frederick H. Denman, and Kate A. Strickland, his chosen and accomplished

bride. Then, in company with the wedding party, they went on to Philadelphia
to mingle with the joyous American throng gathered there to celebrate the one
hundredth birthday of the nation. No short sketch can do justice to the grand
and admirable collections exhibited ; so we will leave it to the pen of a more
accomplished writer to delineate its magnificence, and merely give it the appella-
tion of one of the "wonders of the world." Leaving the great Centennial, Mr.
Hussey, his wife, and daughter took the route homeward through the romantic
Lehigh valley, visiting, on the way, his native land, — the scenes of his early hopes
and youthful aspirations. After a prolonged stay and a pleasant journey they
found themselves once more at home. The romantic and thriving city of Battle
Creek is situated at the confluence of two small but beautiful rivers, known to
the red man of the forest by the significant names of Kekalamazoo, or the bright
sparkling river, and Wapokisko, the river of battle, or the river of blood, which,
after uniting their waters, flow westward, under the name of Kalamazoo river,
until they mingle with those of Lake Michigan. Here, in this lovely city,
Erastus Hussey has made his attractive home, where, with the wife of his youth
and their widowed daughter, he hopes to spend the evening of his days in con-
tentment and repose.

HON. CHARLES AUSTIN

was born in London, England, April 19, 1834. He received his education in one
of the schools of the British and Foreign School Society, an admirable institution
for the general dissemination of knowledge in England and the British provinces.
He emigrated to America in February, 1852, and had but thirteen English shil-
lings in his pocket on landing in New York. Finding no work in the metropolis,
he proceeded to Albany and procured a place at shoemaking, with which trade he
had previously become slightly acquainted. He resided in the State of New York
until the spring of 1854, when he removed to Concord, Jackson county, Michigan.
There he became acquainted with, and, on the 1st of January, 1855, married,
Miss Lucy D. Taylor. From Concord he removed to Homer, in this county, in
the fall of the same year ; and in 1857 to Bedford, in the same county. He was \
engaged in the boot and shoe business at Bedford until 1863, when he purchased
a general store there, and continued in it until 1872, when he removed to Battle
Creek in April of that year, and entered the dry-goods business, in which he is
now & prominent and substantial representative, being a member of the well-known
firm of Austin & Hoffmaster.

While in Bedford he was a member of the Congregational church and super-
intendent of the Sunday-school. He was also elected justice of the peace one
term. In 1875 he was elected alderman of the first ward of the city of Battle
Creek, and in 1876 was elected mayor by a large majority, and in 1877 he was
re-elected to the same office by an increased majority. He has always been a
Republican since the organization of that party in Michigan, and has been a can-
didate of that party in all the offices to which he has been elected. That he has
filled them well is shown by his present popularity.

In 1869 and 1870 he made a trip to England, France, Australia, and New
Zealand, which occupied some fourteen months. Mr. Austin is a member of the
Congregational and Presbyterian church of Battle Creek, is superintendent of its
Sunday-school, and president of a musical society called the " Choral Union."
He is also High Priest of Battle Creek chapter, No. 19, of R. A. M., all of which
positions he fills with honor and credit. Personally he is a gentleman of high
morality, sterling integrity, and splendid reputation. In manner he is courteous,
in disposition kind, and, whether in his public or private life, always gentlemanly
in his deportment ; hence he enjoys an extensive friendship, and is highly esteemed
for his general good qualities of heart and head.

ELIAS C. MANCHESTER

was born in Scipio, Cayuga county, New York, of Quaker parentage, June 29,
1813. He was brought up on a farm, and received his education at the common
schools of his native town, attending them during the winter, and devoting the
summer months to assisting on the farm. At the age of eighteen he taught a
district school for two terms. When twenty-one years of age he married Miss
Amy Ann Howland, a native of Scipio and three years his junior. She is still
living, having raised a family of ten children, of whom nine — seven sons and two

100

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

daughters — survive, having all reached maturity. Five of the sons served their
country during the rebellion, distinguishing themselves by courage and patriotism.
The names of these are Caleb, Stephen, Perry H., Charles E., and Elias H., all
of whom were honorably discharged.

Mr. Manchester removed to Michigan in 1836, and settled on a farm now
located in Battle Creek, but then a wilderness. He arrived in March of the
above year, and, after canvassing the county for a suitable place to locate, his
decision rested on Battle Creek, and he returned to New York State and got his
wife and baby and made his permanent settlement in September of the same year,
on a farm situated on the northwest quarter of section 1, town 2 south, of range
8 west. In politics he was a Whig, and was elected justice of the peace by that
party, and has subsequently served the township and city as supervisor for several
years ; was always an anti-slavery man. He joined the Free-Soil movement, and
on the organization of the Republican party acted with it until 1869, when he
assisted in the organization of the Prohibition party, and from that time until
1876 he acted with it, and finally affiliated with the Greenback party and sup-
ported Cooper for the presidency. From 1857 to 1863 he was interested in the
mercantile business in Battle Creek, under the firm-titles of Averill & Manchester
and Averill, Briggs & Co. In the winter of 1863 this co-partnership was dis-
solved by mutual agreement, and the liabilities of the concern honorably adjusted.
He has always advocated universal education, has been a true friend to the tem-
perance cause, and for three years presided over the grand lodge of Good Tem-
plars. He exercises the right of free thought on all subjects, and is ever ready
to investigate all questions, and accepts as truth all that commends itself to his
reason and judgment, rejecting nothing without a rigid examination.

For the past quarter of a century he has been identified with the Spiritualistic
movement, and for three years held the position of president of the State associa-
tion of that body.

ASAHEL BEACH, M.D.

Asahel, son of Thomas and Mary Beach, old and respected pioneers of Wash-
ington county, New York, was born at Cambridge, the same county and State, on
the 25th of December, 1799. His father was a farmer, and the doctor's youth
was spent among the natural beauties of the country. He first attended the com-
mon schools of his native town, and latterly, the academy at the same place,
where he completed his literary education. He entered upon the study of medi-
cine, in 1821, in the office of Thomas Beach, Jr., M.D., who was a prominent
physician of Ontario county, New York. He continued his studies with him
and Dr. A. G. Smith, who was quite an eminent surgeon of western New York,
for some time, and then went to Vermont t and matriculated at Castleton medical
college, where he attended two courses of lectures, and graduated with an honor-
able diploma, December 24, 1824. Was a student for some years with Dr. An-
derson, professor of anatomy and operative surgery, of Albany, New York. He
then went to Victor, New York, where he practiced his profession for about ten
years with marked success. In 1834, he removed to Michigan, and located in
what was then old Milton township, now town 2 south, of range 7 west, and
within the limits of the city of Battle Creek. He was one of the earliest medical
^practitioners in the county, and although coming here with the intention of de-
voting his time to farming (locating between five and six hundred acres for that
purpose), he was induced to act as physician to the early settlers, particularly in
the sickly season of 1838. About 1843, he retired from active practice, having
* in the spring of that year removed to the town of Battle Creek.

On the 24th of October, 1826, he married Miss Martha N. Cady, daughter of
General Cady, who was born on the same month and date in the year 1809, at
Mendon, Monroe county, New York. They had four children, of whom three
survive. Martha A. was born November 20, 1831, died November 1, 1834,
while en route for Michigan ; Mary Adelpha, born January 25, 1834, and now
the wife of Frank N. Bennett, of Battle Creek ; C. Cady, born November 24,
1836 ; for some years engaged in the banking business with Mr. A. C. Hamblin ;
Thomas S., born May 8, 1847, and now resides at Topeka, Illinois.

In politics, as in religion, Mr. Beach has ever been progressive. He started out
a Whig, and remained with them until the organization of the Republican party,
when he became a Republican, and has since acted with them. In religion he is
now a Spiritualist. He was first a Presbyterian, afterwards saw something of an
advanced nature of thought in the Universalist doctrine, and affiliated with them.
After careful study and investigation of modern Spiritualism he embraced that, as
being nearer his views philosophically and theologically. In character he is a
person of unblemished reputation ; a good, upright, and honest man, and an ener-
getic and capable citizen.

HARVEY J. DU BOIS.

Harvey J., son of Peter and Sally Du Bois, old and respectable citizens of Sara-
toga county, New York, and subsequently pioneers of Battle Creek township, this
county, was born in Saratoga county, New York, January 5, 1825. He passed
his boyhood days on his father's farm, and there acquired those habits of industry
and prudential care that have tended largely to his present prosperity. In May,
1836, the family left their eastern home and came and settled in the wilderness
that then constituted that portion of Battle Creek township where they located.
They made the journey from New York in a covered wagon, and came by the
route through Canada by way of Buffalo, occupying about four weeks in the toil-
some emigration. They stopped on the way to visit some friends, which tended
somewhat to relieve the monotony of constant travel. In the early part of June
they arrived at their destination, and purchased forty acres, part of the farm of
two hundred acres now owned by the subject of this sketch. It was what is
designated " oak openings," and they went to work with a will to clear it for cul-
tivation. The family, on arrival, consisted of Peter Du Bois and Sally his wife,
and three children, — Harvey J., James G., and Esther Mary.

On the 7th of April, 1853, Harvey J. Du Bois and Cynthia J. Stickney,
daughter of Euselius Stickney, of Allegany county, New York, were* married.
She was born in Kendall, Orleans county, New York, March 5, 1826. On her 1
way west she embarked at Buffalo, on August 18, 1852, on board the ill-fated
steamer " Atlantic," which, at two a.m., on August 19, 1852, collided with the
" Ogdensburg," and went down with more than two hundred souls. After the
collision Mrs. Du Bois was taken from the wreck and placed on board the " Og-
densburg," and reached Detroit safely after a very narrow escape. They had three
children, namely, Charlotte E., who was born May 25, 1854 ; died October 26,
1869 ; Louette L., born May 7, 1859 ; Clayton H., born April 27, 1864.

On the 25th of February, 1869, Mr. Du Bois sustained the loss of his mother,
and on August 30, 1875, his father was called hence. They were both honored
members of the Presbyterian church at Battle Creek, and were highly respected
by the community in which they had resided so long.

In politics Mr. Du Bois is Republican ; he and his father before him were
strong Abolitionists. He never desired or accepted political preferment of any
kind, rather choosing to devote his time to his own business. He never formally
joined any religious denomination, but his life has been such that no sectarian
influences could have made it more becoming or more truly Christian. His long
residence in Battle Creek township, with his energy and faithful work in its de-
velopment, has made him one of the most respected of its citizens. He is a man
whose general worth commands the honor and esteem of all with whom he comes
in contact.

ISAAC PERRY HART

is the third of a family of eleven children, of whom but himself and two sisters —
one the wife of A. D. Power, of Wayne county, Michigan, and the other the wife
of Levi Stewart, of Battle Creek township — survive. His father, William A.
Hart, was born February 17, 1792, and his mother, Lydia Perry, May 18, 1794.
They were respectable citizens of Washington county, New York, where the sub-
ject of our sketch was born December 25, 1819. His father being a farmer, in
moderate circumstances, he was early taught habits of industry and economy. He
received the rudiments of his education at the public schools of his native place,
and completed his studies at Cambridge academy.

In 1842 he removed to Michigan, and purchased the northeast quarter of sec-
tion 18, in Battle Creek township, where he made a permanent settlement. By
hard work and practical providence he has added to his original purchase, until
he now possesses three hundred acres of fertile and well-cultivated land, on which
are good substantial buildings. His residence, an illustration of which can be
seen elsewhere in this work, is a model of home comfort, and a fair criterion of
his taste and love for domestic enjoyment.

On the 2d of May, 1866, he married Calista Dailey, a lady of fine intelligence
and excellent housekeeping qualifications. Four children — two sons and two
daughters — have been born to them, all of whom survive.

In politics, Mr. Hart is Republican, and has been frequently elected to the office
of justice of the peace in his township. In religious sentiment he is afiiliated to
the society of Friends, to which his family for generations belonged. He is a
sound, practical farmer, an excellent husband and father, and a worthy and re-
spected citizen.

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

101

PHOTO. BY CRISPELL.

JOHN beach, m.d.

This gentleman was born at Cambridge, Washington county, New York, Jan-
uary 3, 1797. He afterwards moved to Ontario county, where he entered the
office of his brother Thomas, who was a prominent physician in that county.
After completing his medical studies, and practicing his profession in various
places in western New York, he emigrated to Michigan in 1836, and settled on
the farm in Battle Creek township now occupied by his widow and their son, E.
Darwin, and his family.

On the 18th of May, 1823, Dr. Beach married Miss Harriet Yan Tuyl, who
was born on the 25th of March, 1800. At the time they started to Michigan
they had four children — two sons and two daughters. The doctor took the boys
and came through in a covered wagon, by way of Buffalo and Canada, to Detroit,
while Mrs. Beach came through by Canada to Buffalo, and from there to Detroit
on the steamer " Ohio," and joined the rest of the family at Detroit. She recalls
the incidents of that voyage very vividly, for she avers that in all her experience
she never felt more miserable. She was sea-sick from the time she left Buffalo
until she landed in Detroit, and we leave it to those who have been similarly
afflicted to realize her position. She had one little girl and an infant child to
take care of, while she herself needed care worse than any of them. She ate
nothing during the entire five days, but, if we know anything about sea-sickness,
her appetite after landing was keen, to say the least. Nothing is better for the
general health than a good spell of sea-sickness, although the indescribable symp-
toms of the disease are anything but enviable. But she survived it, and came
through from Detroit to Marshall by stage, and from thence to the place of her
brother-in-law, Dr. Asahel Beach, in Emmett township, where he then resided,
about three miles from Battle Creek, without adventure.

They got settled in their new home in the woods in the fall of 1836. The
doctor immediately entered upon the practice of his profession, and proved him-
self to be one of the best physicians. There was no medicine to be purchased
hereabouts in those days, so that after the supply he brought in was exhausted he
had resource to the products of the forest, and practiced on the Thompsonian
system. In the sickly season of 1838 he worked hard, and in fact overtaxed
his strength to such a degree that about a year afterwards he was taken sick
himself, which terminated his life August 25, 1840. He had gone east to
endeavor to recuperate his shattered health, and died in New York city. He was
a man of fine intellectual ability, of literary culture, of a highly social disposition,

and a well-read physician. We quote the subjoined paragraph from A. D. P.
Yan Buren, who knew him well, and appreciated his worth fully:

" Dr. Beach had read many books, was an interesting conversationalist, and I,
although he came as a physician, always hailed with delight his visits to our
house. The lack of society here in the woods made life lonely, and when he
came he would talk about schools, education, books, and other subjects in which
my parents and myself were interested. It was necessary sometimes for him to
prolong the visit to his patient ; he then, turning the chair down on the floor and
placing a pillow on its back, would lie down and interest us for hours with conver-
sation and varied narrations from his rich store of knowledge. And I remember
the good advice, in regard to securing a thorough education, that I, then a boy,
received from our kind-hearted physician and genial friend."

Dr. and Mrs. Beach had a family of five children, of whom four survive. We
annex the family record, as follows :

Jerome B., born May 4, 1824, died June 2, 1825 ; Morgan Gilbert, born
April 30, 1826; Cordelia C, born August 24, 1828; Erasmus Darwin, born
March 8, 1831 ; Mary Ann, born March 31, 1836.

E. DARWIN BEACH

has always resided on the old homestead. He has acquired an enviable reputa-
tion as a good, practical farmer and stock-raiser, and it is safe to say that his ex-
tensive farm of three hundred acres is as well cultivated and produces as much per
acre as any place in Calhoun County. A peculiar trait of his character is his
known kind treatment of and justice towards his hired help, and we venture the
assertion that no farmer in the county is ever better supplied, either with regard
to numbers, qualifications, or general usefulness.

On the 18th of June, 1862, Mr. Beach married Miss Ovieda Strong, and they
have two very interesting and promising sons, namely, Harry Dayton, born June
12, 1864, and Carl Franz, born March 20, 1866.

An illustration of the Beach farm and buildings is given herewith, together
with portraits of the venerable Mrs. Dr. John Beach and Darwin and his wife.
They are inserted by Mr. Darwin Beach as a token of affection, and will stand
as a fitting monument to his father's and mother's memory, and a pleasant
memento to his own family long after the parent stock has ceased to exist.

102

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

JERVIS H. WATTLES, M.D.

This gentleman was bora in Troy, Oakland county, Michigan, September 7,
1840. He is the eldest of a family of four children, the son of Harper Wattles,
Esq., a prominent and respected pioneer of Oakland county. The family is of
Scotch origin ; the ancestral name in Scotland, and for a time used by the first
emigrants to this country, was Mc Wattles, the prefix being dropped as the family
became Americanized. His father was largely identified with the early interests
of eastern Michigan, having been occupied for a considerable time in civil engi-
neering and surveying. His parentage is characterized by high morality and
• integrity, and stands prominent among representative families of Delaware and
Broome counties, New York. The leading types evinced in each were a special
fondness and adaptability to practical, scientific, inventive, and constructive inge-
nuity. The doctor, being largely and naturally endowed with abilities of the above
kind, early manifested a special interest in studies and works of like character.
In particular might be mentioned those of mechanical ingenuity, invention, scien-
tific pursuit, cause and effect, and the demonstration of natural qualities which
from any source whatever produce practical results, rather than contributing to
the support of fine-spun theories. These, together with liberty of thought and
freedom of action, furnish very essential qualifications for the successful practice
of the profession he has espoused. One of the determining reasons for choosing
the profession of medicine was the result of long-continued illness in his father's
family, where much interest and anxiety were had in the long care of invalid
parents. These things, though painful to his filial love, were greatly beneficial in
point of practical experience. He was thus early inured to the position of at-
tendant to the sick, which is certainly a very necessary qualification in the family
physician. Prior to the commencement of the study of medicine, under the
direction of a preceptor, and before the age of eighteen, anatomy, physiology,
symptomatology, and homoeopathic materia medica had been studied ; and at the
age of nineteen, after his preparatory education, he commenced the study of den-
tistry under the tutelage of Dr. T. A. White, of Detroit, later of Battle Creek,
and with whom he occupied an office at the latter place for three years. After
one year he was obliged to abandon study, on account of severe illness from typhoid
fever. A long and terrible sickness in his father's family ensued, and from the
same disease his mother and next youngest brother died. This served, after re-
covery, as a new incentive to the resumption of medical studies, which were then
renewed under the instruction of Dr. Day, of Detroit. During the first year's
pupilage in medicine he had again to abandon his studies on account of defective
eyesight, close application to books resulting in blindness that continued for several
months. Thus having twice suffered from a most painful affliction of the eyes,
and having been a long time under treatment by eminent oculists in the east and
elsewhere, he determined to post himself especially in the department of ocular
surgery, and now gives particular attention to all diseases of the eye. Having
himself been a sufferer, his experieneer could not fail to have taught him many
things connected with this branch of the profession not generally known to prac-
titioners.

The principal part of three years was spent in study and observation under
homoeopathic influences, when a change was made, and he entered the office of
Dr. J. C. K. Crooks, of Birmingham, Oakland county, Michigan, a highly in-
telligent and most worthy member of the regular profession, formerly of Rich-
mond, Virginia. Here, in connection with study, and under the counsel of Dr.
C, he engaged in general practice, this, however, prior to a course of lectures, —
the* first being obtained at the University of Michigan in the classes of 1864-65.
Then returning to Birmingham he resumed study and practice until the fall of
186-5, when a second course was attended at the Cleveland Medical College, Ohio.
Here he distinguished himself by attaining a proficiency in all branches, and a
well-earned reputation for diligence and faithful study. In addition to the pre-
scribed course a thorough acquaintance was had in the manual of operative
surgery, under the teaching of Professor Milton J. Woodworth, and he was one of
the class which was the first in any school to receive separate diplomas for quali-
fications in special surgery. His proficient attainments in anatomy obtained a
recognition, and for a portion of the term he acted as demonstrator in that de-
partment. In 1866 he graduated from this institution with high honors. He
returned to Birmingham and began a responsible practice of medicine and sur-
gery. During a two years' sojourn at that place he obtained an enviable reputa-
tion for skill and responsibility, as is continually demonstrated by the frequent
solicitations for counsel from his former patrons at that place.

In May, 1868, Dr. Wattles came to Battle Creek, and certainly no practitioner
has been more successful. He now enjoys a large and remunerative practice,
which his diligence and generally extensive knowledge of his profession bid fair
to increase.

In him are found the qualities of a true physician. Kind and sympathizing to
those who are suffering, faithful in all professional duties, rapid and sure in

diagnosis, prompt in emergencies, and honest in opinion, he cannot fail to hold
the conspicuous position he has acquired.

The successful results of frequent and delicate operations in general and ophthal-
mic surgery give evidence of skill and ability in these departments.

Resections of important joints for necrosis; ligations of jugular veins, carotid,
humeral, femoral, and popliteal arteries for aneurism and in wounds ; operations
in strangulated hernia ; lithotomy, trephining, cataract, strabismus, etc., are not
unworthy of a notice.

His attainments have given him more than local notoriety, for he has been
frequently offered positions of honor in medical institutions of the State.
• Truly, we cannot do less than award him a place among the pre-eminent phy-
sicians and surgeons of his day.

A. L. CLARK.

PHOTO. BY CRISPEM,.

Among the representative self-made men of Calhoun County, none are more
deserving of a place in its history than the subject of our sketch. He was born
February 3, 1813, and, like most of our successful business men, his early life
w^as one of close application, self-reliance, and self-denial. He worked at the
shoemaker's bench for some years, but on accumulating a small capital he made
some judicious investments in real estate and otherwise, until at the time of his
death, January 15, 1874, he left one of the largest private fortunes in the county,
his estate inventorying three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The good for-
tune which attended Mr. Clark in all his transactions cannot be considered acci-
dental. It was a necessary consequence of untiring industry, good management
of his interests, and, above all, a firm, uncompromising spirit of personal honor
and integrity.

Coming to Michigan as he did in 1836, and a few years later to this city, where
he first began actual business, the speculative tendency which has so conspicuously
marked the current of events of late years was comparatively unknown, capital
was limited, business principles few and simple, and the standard of individual
rectitude severer than we find it in our day. Hard and persistent labor, diligence,
punctuality in fulfilling engagements, and, to use a trite but expressive phrase,
" square dealing," were then the prime — we might almost say the only — factors of
success. These Mr. Clark possessed in a remarkable degree. His name, from first
to last, continued a synonym of sound judgment and sterling honesty.

On the 6th of March, 1844, Mr. Clark was united in marriage with Miss Ra-
chel M. Rowley, who was born at Turin, Lewis county, New York, April 14, 1826.
Seven children — six sons and one daughter — were born to them, namely, Charles E.,
born December 8, 1844, died August 24, 1846 ; Clarence C, born May 4, 1846,
died March 28, 1868 ; Mary E., born December 20, 1847, died July 1, 1851 ;
Alexander L., born October 29, 1851 ; Chester R., born July 5, 1853; Walter,
born February 28, 1855 ; Frederick M., born November 9, 1859.

66^^

(D^^^^^c,^^

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

103

ANSON MAPES.

The late Anson Mapes, son of John Mapes, Sr., and Anna, his wife, was born
at Hoosick, Rensselaer county, New York, on the 5th of May, 1810. His youth
was spent on his father's farm, and when eighteen years old he left the paternal
roof and went out in the world to do for himself. He proceeded to Auburn, in
his native State, where he employed himself at farming and teaming, and, by
eight years of industry and providence, he managed to lay up about six hundred
dollars. Hearing of the remarkable success which the immigrants from the east
were achieving in the west in all branches of industry, particularly in agriculture,
he wended his way thither, and in 1835 we find him in Hillsdale, Michigan. In
the fall of the same year he effected a permanent settlement in Battle Creek
township, where, in section 30, he laid the foundation of what for many years
constituted his happy and peaceful home. On the 25th of March, 1847, he mar-
ried Mrs. Maria Fulton (formerly Miss Maria Blass, who was born at Sharon,
Schoharie county, New York, January 14, 1814), a widow lady, having two chil-
dren by her former husband, one of whom survives, and the other is not. This
union was a happy one in every respect; and six children were sent to add to its
bliss. These are all living, and are useful and honorable members of society in
the communities in which they respectively reside.

On the 31st of March, 1875, Mr. Mapes was called hence, having faithfully
fulfilled his mission on earth. By his death, his family lost a fond husband and
father, and the community an estimable citizen. He was liberal in his support of
religious and intellectual enterprises, temperate in his life, and in his business
transactions honorable and just. He was eminently a self-made man, having had
to rely upon his own resources from boyhood up. By hard work, practical econ-
omy, and judicious investments, he had become quite comfortably circumstanced,
so that at his demise his widow was left in possession of a fine home, and sur-
rounded by the benefits of a moderate competence. She still resides on the old
homestead, around which cluster so many pleasurable memories, and on which so
many varied emotions have been felt. Here were their children born ; and here,
too, the cup of sorrow was filled when Death asserted his triumph, and the
loved head of the family was taken from among them. (See illustration.)

HON. GEORGE NELSON WAKEFIELD.

George Nelson Wakefield was a son of Simeon Wakefield, one of the early
pioneers of northern Yermont. He was born in Williston, Chittenden county, in
that State, January 18, 1806. His father being a carpenter by trade, and Nelson
the eldest son of a family of six children, it was thought necessary that he should
be bred a farmer, although his natural bent of inclination was the study of the
law as a profession ; but he carried on his farm of one hundred and sixty acres
from his early boyhood, exercising his own judgment, principally with regard to
buying and selling stock, from the age of fifteen very successfully, his judgment
being considered very mature at that age by those best informed. He remained
with his parents on the farm until twenty-one years, and subsequently purchased
the farm of his father, and remained on it for about twenty years. When about
twenty-two years of age he was induced to learn the blacksmith's business with
a gentleman who was doing a good business in Williston, and after mastering the
trade entered into copartnership with the same gentleman, and carried on an ex-
tensive business in the line of his trade and that of a wheelwright.

On the 6th day of December, 1832, he was united in marriage to Caroline M.,
daughter of Enoch Noble, of Richmond, Yermont, and sister of Alonzo Noble,
of the city of Battle Creek. Jane Maria, the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Wake-
field, was the first wife of the late lamented Z. T. Slater, M.D., of the same city.
But the parental love of this benevolent pair was not all lavished on this much-
loved daughter ; on the contrary, it went out to four boys, whom they from time
to time adopted into their family and gave a father's and mother's love and care.
The first one was Norman W. Barnett, who is now a highly-respected citizen of
San Francisco, California. The second was Curtis F. Crittenden, who is the pres-
ident of the Royal College of Dental Surgery of Ontario, Dominion of Canada,
and who was at the bedside of his foster-father during the last illness of the latter.
The third one was Willis Lyman, who, at the outbreak of the great rebellion, en-
listed as a soldier in the army of the Union, was promoted to a sergeant, and was
acting as orderly when he fell, a martyr in the cause of his country, in the last
engagement before Richmond. The fourth one was a grandson, Nelson Wakefield
Slater, son of their daughter, Mrs. Slater, who, previous to her decease, with the
consent of her husband gave her little boy, then two and a half years old, to her
father and mother. He was a noble boy, but died at the tender age of scarcely
eleven years. Mr. and Mrs. Wakefield had the whole nurture of the boy during
the whole of his brief stay among them.

During the residence of Mr. Wakefield in his native county he was honored
with various offices of trust, and enjoyed in a marked degree the confidence and
friendship of a large circle of acquaintances.

He removed to the city of Battle Creek with his family in February, 1857,
arriving there on the 5th day of the month, since which time till his death, which
occurred March 12, 1877, he was a resident of the city. In 1872, without solici-
tation on his part, he was elected to the offi.ce of mayor of the city by a large
majority, receiving his support from both political parties, the duties of which
position he discharged with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents.
Ever faithful and true to the interests of the city, with modesty, which was his
crowning virtue, and firmness in his convictions of right, he will ever rank with
the tried and true friends of the city of his adoption.

During the war Mr. Wakefield was elected chairman of the recruiting com-
mittee, and was very active in the Union cause, assisting in raising the quotas of
the city, and labored diligently in providing supplies for the sick and wounded
soldiers. He, together with his brother-in-law, Alonzo Noble, were among the
first to respond to the call of the government of the State for funds with which
to prosecute the war.

The confidence reposed in his integrity and sound judgment by his fellow-citi-
zens has been evinced by the frequency with which he has been called upon to settle
many of the most difficult probated estates in the county, and which, by amicable
adjustment and compromise, he has been able to fully settle without expensive
and tedious litigation, and bring to a happy issue the most complicated and vexed
questions of the law. He was a genial, kind-hearted man, and in all the relations
of life discharged his duty with fidelity. But above all, he was a kind husband
and father, a true friend and neighbor, and consistent Christian, doing unto others
as he would wish them to do by him. He was a member of the Universalist
church in Williston, Yermont, and ever practiced the doctrines he professed.
Long will he be kindly remembered by those who knew him best.

JOSEPH W. STEWART.

Joseph W., son of John and Mary Stewart, was born in Romulus, Seneca
county, New York, January 8, 1809. In 1824 he removed with his parents to
Ypsilanti, Michigan, of which place they were among the very earliest settlers.
His father removed to Battle Creek township in 1831, and in 1833 he arrived in
the same township and settled on the farm he now occupies, on the northwest
quarter of section 27. It required considerable hard work and some sacrifice of
comfort to develop the land he took up into the fine, well-cultivated, and produc-
tive farm as we find it to-day. But the pioneers came in expecting to exercise
laborious exertion, and not to repose on beds of roses.

On the 8th of March, 1829, he married Miss»Mary Hiscock, by whom he had
three children, namely, James H., born December 9, 1829 ; Edwin, born October
16, 1832, died July 16, 1853 ; Joseph, born July 22, 1837, and died in infancy.
His wife died soon after the birth of their last child, and having two young chil-
dren who needed a mother's care, he married again, on the 25th of February,
1838, to Jane Templer. The result of this marriage — which was enjoyed only
about a year — was one daughter, Eliza J., born December 31, 1838 ; died May 26,
1853. On the 3d of June, 1839, he sustained the loss of his second wife, and
again married, this time to Sophia Smith, on September 9, 1839. She was called
hence September 11, 1864, two days after the twenty-fifth anniversary of their
wedding. This union was blessed with four children, namely, Phebe A., born
October 17, 1840 ; Harriet E., born June 2, 1844, died July 20, 1845 ; Eugene
. B., born November 25, 1846, died May 2, 1847 ; and one died in infancy.

June 18, 1865, Mr. Stewart, being a firm believer in the Scriptural precept, —
" It is not good for man to live alone," took unto himself a fourth wife, in the
person of Lucy Crocker, who is still living, and bids fair to live many years,
which her friends trust will be the case. She is a smart, active, and thrifty house-
wife, kind and affectionate in her domestic relations, and a lady who is very
generally respected for her many good qualities.

Mr. Stewart possesses one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he keeps in
excellent cultivation. He has held various public offices, notably that of assessor,
which he filled for two years. In politics he is Republican ; in religion he belongs
to the denomination called Christians, and is a member of their church at Mar-
shall. He is one of the oldest pioneers in the township, having passed forty-four
years of his life there. He is a man well and favorably known as a good, practical
farmer, and a quiet, unostentatious, and honest citizen. An illustration of his
farm and building, and a portrait of himself and wife, can be seen elsewhere in
this work.

104

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

BARNETT WOOD.

Barnett, son of Isaiah and Hannah Wood, is of English and Welsh descent,
and was born in Otego, Otsego county, New York, May 13, 1812. When but
four years old his parents removed to Steuben county, New York, where he at-
tended the public schools two or three terms. When in his ninth year he was
bound out to a farmer, with the understanding that he was to receive one year's
schooling, of which he actually got six months, and that at long intervals. His
master was a stern man, of doubtful morality, while his mistress was a kind and
motherly person, who endeavored to make him comfortable during his bondage,
which extended over a period of twelve years, terminating with his minority.
After his release he engaged at rafting, and hired for a trip down the river, and
earned thirty-four dollars in one month, the first money he had ever possessed.
He worked at the lumber business for the ensuing six years.

On the 9th of November, 1835, he married Miss Fatima Gregory, who was
born at Campbelltown, Steuben county, New York, June 20, 1806. They had
a family of four children, of whom three survive. The following is the family
record :

Francis M., born December 25, 1836; Nancy J., born January 15, 1840, died
January 1, 1860; Jemima H., born November 24, 1842; John Y. N., born
May 13, 1846.

In 1838, Mr. Wood removed to Michigan, and after working about three
months for Dorrance Williams, in Battle Creek township, returned to New York
State and resumed his former occupation. In 1840 he returned to Michigan
with his family. He worked the Williams farm on shares for two years; but
not agreeing with his partner he quit, and went to work for Schuyler Goff one
season. He then rented land of Stephen Valentine for a term of five years ; but
having a good deal of sickness in his family about this time, did not save much
money. In 1846 he purchased eighty acres of land, and moved on to it in 1847,
where he has since remained. By subsequent purchases he has added to his
possessions until he now owns two hundred and three acres of land under culti-
vation.

In politics Mr. Wood is a Republican, but was always adverse to receiving
office. In 1865 he was elected justice of the peace, the only time he ever devi-
ated from the paths of private life. In religion he is a Presbyterian, having been
a member of that church for half a century. He is a gentleman who enjoys the

esteem and respect of the community in which he resides, on account of many
sterling qualities. He is liberal in his support of religious and educational enter-
prises, and has always endeavored so to live that those who know him best deem
him a worthy citizen and a Christian gentleman.

CHARLES H. CROSBY

was born in Groton, Tompkins county, New York, April 17, 1821. He remained
in his native place until he reached the age of twenty-two, and then removed to
Monroe county, New York. He stayed in western New York until 1855, when he
came to Michigan and settled near Galesburg, and in the fall of 1865 settled on
the farm he now occupies. One of the distinguishing traits of his character is his
love of neatness. This is fully demonstrated by the complete renovation to which
he subjected his farm as soon as he go't rightly settled thereon. The buildings at
first consisted of a log house and barn, the latter of which he displaced by a good
substantial frame structure within two years after taking up his residence on the
farm ; and the house he made do until 1871, when he erected the present one,
which is among the most commodious and neatest in the township. He also
graded the front yard, and converted it into a tasteful garden, which he orna-
mented with shrubs and trees and beds of beautiful flowers. On the 18th of
December, 1856, he married Avis, daughter of Alonzo Imus, one of the pioneers
of Kent county, Michigan. She was born in Bennington county, Vermont, July
28, 1829. She emigrated to Michigan with her parents in 1845 ; was educated
at Albion college, this county, and taught school at different times for a period
aggregating ten years.

Their homestead consists of one hundred and sixty acres of well-cultivated and
fertile land, an illustration of which, with the buildings, can be seen elsewhere in
this work, together with portraits of the owners. »Mr. Crosby is a Republican in
politics ; in religion he is liberal, never having joined any secular denomination.
As a citizen he holds an exalted position among the intelligent farmers of his
township, and he and his amiable wife enjoy the respect of all with whom they
have become acquainted.

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ALBION TOWNSHIP.

Township 3, range 4 west, was in 1834, by an act of the Territorial legislature,
comprised within the township of Homer. The surface of this section is in
general undulating. The soil is a rich, black loam, well adapted to the cultivation
and production of grain. The Kalamazoo river entering the township from the
southwest flows towards the northeast, and uniting at the village of Albion with
the north branch, forms a strong hydraulic power. East of the river was once a
"burr-oak" plain. To the northwest is good farming land, but in the west and
southwest portions there is marshy ground of no great value. Several small lakes
are interspersed through the town ; of these, the largest is Spectacle lake, which
is situated in the northwest part. These lakes, combined with numerous springs,
conduce to a moist condition of the soil favorable to agricultural effort.

The site of Albion at once attracted the attention of early explorers, who foresaw
in this spot the ultimate establishment of a business centre by enterprising millers
and manufacturers. That the valuable water-power has been utilized, and that
those explorers were not deceived in judgment, is verified to-day in the existence
of a thriving and populous village. A few pioneers came into the township, and
when they had announced its capabilities its lands were speedily entered and
occupied, and full settlement was an accomplished fact.

FIRST SETTLERS.

Exempt from fears of Indian hostility, and fearing no defects of title such as
clogged the opening settlements of western New York and southeastern Ohio, the
pioneers of Albion found the system of land entries originating with Phelps and
Gorham, at Canandaigua, New York, and adopted by the United States, in full
force, and came into possession with confidence of the stability of their deed of
purchase. The south half of the northeast quarter of section 2, entered October
16, 1830, by Ephraim Harrison, was the first land transaction in the township of
Albion. In 1831, Darius Pierce, of Washtenaw county, Michigan, entered the
northwest quarter of the same section — the same being then known as the " Forks
of the Kalamazoo," and now occupied by the main part of Albion village. This
entry was obviously speculative, as there followed a sale to Tenney Peabody, of
New York, for a profit of a hundred dollars. The purchaser afterwards bought
out Sidney Ketchum, who had entered a part, if not the whole, of section 35 in
Sheridan.

Intending settlement, Peabody, having completed his preparations, set out in
December from Kempville, New York, a place situated at the mouth of Eighteen-
Mile Creek, and now known as Alcott. He was accompanied by his family, and,
conveying his household goods and other movable property in two wagons drawn
by three yoke of oxen, traversed Canada, stopping to bivouac wherever night
overtook him ; crossed the river at Youngstown, and stopped five miles east of
Albion, with a settler named Blackfield. A rest having been taken, Mr. Peabody,
accompanied by his nephew, Charles Blanchard, and a young man named Clark
Dowling, pushed on and made camp on a spot about ten rods from the present site
of the Presbyterian church. They set to work and put up a log shanty with rail
rafters. The men arrived on March 4, 1832, and the family followed in the course
of a week. Their commencement was auspicious and cheering. The weather
was most beautiful, and so continued through the spring. Asahel Finch was the
first to follow Peabody, and next came Wareham Warner. In 1833, Peter
Holmes, accompanied by his sons Charles D. and Patterson P., entered land on
section 14, built a log hut, and were joined by the rest of the family in October
of the same year. Later, John Fabrique, Vine Markham, Orson West, and Samuel
W. Douglass settled on the same line of travel. Incoming settlers, travelers, and
land speculators frequently desiring accommodations of food and lodging, Doug-
lass opened a tavern in his house, which stood on the farm now owned by John
Benham, and upon the road then known as the " Washtenaw Trail," leading from
Jackson to Three Rivers.

Initial settlement in the southwest part of the town was made by Cyrus Rob-
ertson, John and James Vanderburg, a Mr. Gridley, and others not recalled. Dr.
Henderson came in contemporary with these, and located one mile east of the Wash-
tenaw trail. Land was entered in the same neighborhood by James Sheldon,
Henry Luce, and the Hewells, Hiram and Ashbell. The pioneers upon the Con-
cord road were Marvin Hannahs, James Lake, and Charles Hancock. Those
in the western part of the township were Alvin C. Waldo, E. M. Rogers, and
14

Perry Viets. In 1833 Wareham Warner bought the east part of section 3 and
other lands, and associated with Mr. Peabody to erect a saw-mill, which stood
northward of the rear of the present National bank structure.

Different States, but on or near the same thermal lines, contributed to the early
population of the peninsular State. From Massachusetts came Peter Holmes,
who arrived at his destination June 5, 1833. The outline of his route shows
him to have come from Poughkeepsie to Albany by sloop, thence to Schenectady
by rail upon the pioneer railway, by line-packet to Buffalo, by steamboat to De-
troit, and then on foot to place of settlement, which proved to be on the northeast
quarter of section 22 and the northeast quarter of northwest quarter of section
23. His first care was the erection of a habitation which, in consonance with
custom and necessity, was constructed of logs. He was incommoded by the
scarcity of help, but went resolutely to work, and with a yoke of oxen brought
his logs to the proposed site. When this was effected one or two men came and
assisted in the raising, having a journey of five miles to make before reaching
Holmes' clearing. Mr. Holmes was accompanied by two sons, and while the father
went to Monroe the day succeeding his arrival to enter his land, and then began
his improvements, the sons started for Indiana on foot to buy cattle. The first
settlement reached was on Cook's prairie, so named from the settler, Deacon Cook.
They passed McCamly's, two miles east of Union City, crossed Nottaway City
reservation, then occupied by about five hundred Pottawatomies, and continued
on to Logan sport, where they purchased five yoke of oxen and three cows. They
returned with their stock to Albion in time to plant corn and put in a patch of
buckwheat. Inconvenience was experienced in the want of a blacksmith, and
plow-points were taken to Marshall to be sharpened. In October of the year the
rest of the family came out and began life anew upon the farm. Thomas and
Charles Holmes are present residents of the township, of which the latter has
been supervisor for an aggregate of fifteen years. Fertile soil speedily produced
good crops ; but salt and other provisions were at first brought from Detroit,
and occupied in their conveyance by ox-teams a period of two weeks. The
nearest physician was Dr. Hays, of Marshall. As an instance of progress, it is
stated that in 1836, an interval of less than three years from date of arrival, C.
Holmes slaughtered one hundred head of cattle. Salt was then sixteen dollars a
barrel, and the immense reservoirs of Saginaw brine lay undisturbed, awaiting the
demands of the days to come.

THE ALBION COMPANY.

We have noted the enterprise of Mr. Warner in the erection of a saw-mill.
Jesse Crowell purchased his interest, and, in company with D. L. Bacon and Issa-
char Frost, bought about three hundred acres of land from Peabody, and upon
this tract laid out a village plat, whose record bears date of June, 1836. This
was the origin of what was known as the Albion company.

Warner laid out lots in section 3 adjoining the village. To these he gave the
name " Warner's Addition," which now constitutes the western portion of the vil-
lage. A good name was desired for the embryo village, and the proprietors, among
others, suggested that of Peabodyville. There was a lack of euphony about this
title which caused it to be discarded, and the problem was referred to Mrs. Pea-
body, who called it Albion, after the town from which Mr. Crowell had come.
Prior to this the locality was known among hunters and trappers, and recognized
by others as the " Forks of the Kalamazoo." In 1837 the Albion company
erected a grist-mill, whose frame is yet standing and in use by Bennett, Knick-
erbocker & Co., the owners. The millwright was Elijah Green. A division of
stock was effected by the Albion company. Of the seven shares, one each was
taken by J. Crowell, I. Frost, D. L. Bacon, T. Peabody, Charles Bice, and Hon.
Charles H. Carroll, of Livingston county, New York. The seventh share was
jointly assigned to Professor B. McVicker, of New York College, and Wil-
liam T. Carroll, of Washington, District of Columbia. In 1839 the company
gave sixty acres of land fronting on Ingham street, and extending out to the line
between sections 1 and 2, to the trustees of Wesleyan seminary as building-sites
and grounds. Later, blocks 44 and 45, and the half-blocks 55 and 56, north
and south of Union square, and lying west of Ingham street, were donated to the
same parties, to be used as a campus.

In July, 1842, the company again effected changes. Peabody and McVicker

105

106

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

took the village lots, Carroll the mill property, and D. T. Bacon sold his interest
to Charles Rice, I. Frost, and J. Crowell. The first bridge, opening speedy
communication to opposite banks of the river, was built in 1832 by Charles
Blanchard. Its location was near where Erie street now crosses the stream. A
second bridge was constructed in 1836, where Eaton street now crosses. The
company afterwards built bridges on Superior and Erie streets.

In 1837 a saw-mill was built by Elijah Green and Zenas Stowell, on section 1,
upon the east fork of the river. A supply of miscellaneous goods was brought in
by Philo Taylor, who opened a store in the old block-house of Mr. Peabody.
Subsequently a lot was donated to him by the company for mercantile purposes.
Isaac Jackson, afterwards associated with a Mr. Goodrich, bought Mr. Taylor's
interest, and Goodrich, having sold to Mr. Crowell, removed to Homer. The
firm then known as Jackson & Crowell carried on business in a building which
occupied the site of the Methodist church. That old store was the first framed
building in Albion.

A store was also kept by Lucas Horton in a building which occupied the pres-
ent site of Dr. Steves' residence. Charles M. Cobb also had a store, in the house
occupied by the Peabody family. Messrs. Jackson & Crowell erected a brick
block, still standing, on the corner of Erie and Superior streets. Jackson died
before the work was completed, and Crowell continued in business until 1853.
The first brick building in Albion was erected for store purposes by Mr. Kelly,
and at present constitutes the south wing of the Albion hotel. The first hotel
was a wooden structure, built by Abram Becker in 1836-37, and occupied the
present site of Sheldon's block. Parker's Exchange, now the Globe hotel, was
erected in 1839 by Enos Dutton. A post-office was established at Albion in
1838. Jesse Crowell received the appointment of postmaster, and opened an
office within a small frame building located on the present site of Warner's block,
and now standing a short distance south of its former position. Mr. Cro well's
services seem to have been satisfactory, as is inferred from his having held the
office till the year 1849.

The presence of physicians in the township is contemporary with first settle-
ment, since Dr. Colimer located near the Homer line in 1833. He lived but one
or two years. Dr. Millington was the first resident physician in the village.
Then followed Drs. Henderson and F. Wheelock. The staple product of new
lands has ever been wheat. The first crop of this cereal was sown by Charles
Blanchard, upon land now covered by the seminary buildings. A field was planted
in potatoes, and from four acres there were gathered thirteen hundred bushels.
An early birth in Albion is thus recorded: Boxana Peabody, on May 13, 1835.
Her death was also the first, having occurred April 10, 1837. The first male
child native to Albion was John Peabody, and the first marriage was of Charles
D. Holmes to Nancy Young, on October 20, 1836.

ALBION VILLAGE.

The incorporation of the village of Albion was effected in 1856. At the first
village election the following-named were chosen: George Hannas, president;
George J. Phipany, recorder; W. H. Johnson, treasurer; Marcus H. Crane,
marshal; and Alvin Peck, attorney. Seven trustees were elected: William
Britton, William H. Brockway, Bichard G. Hale, M. P. Wood, William S.
Loomis, Bufus Burr, and Jacob Hoffman. The village boundaries are thus de-
fined : " The south half of section 35, southeast quarter and the east half of the
southwest quarter of section 34, in the township of Sheridan, and section 2 and
the east half of section 3, also the east half of the southwest quarter of section
3, in the town of Albion." The present officials of the village are — A. J. Gale,
president; F. F. Cole, recorder; J. G. Brown, treasurer ; I. J. Lambsen, marshal;
and C. F. Austin, J. W. Clark, B. Finch, L. E. Sheldon, F. F. Hoaglin, J. J.
Alley, W. O'Donoghue, and C. H. Elmer, trustees. As has been incidentally
observed, the hydraulic power at Albion attracted business men, and simultaneous
with their coming a tide of population was created which brought prosperity and
notice, rendering the village the rival of many a thriving village of the State.

Manufactures have taken a leading position. In 1845, J. Crowell, I. Frost,
and Charles Bice built a stone flouring-mill, using for their purpose hewn stone
quarried but a mile and a half from the village. This mill is now owned and the
business is carried on by the firm of Bennett, Knickerbocker & Co. In 1848,
D. Peabody & Brothers began a business in the manufacture of thrashing-machines
and other agricultural machinery. The factory speedily reached large proportions,
but was discontinued within a few years. A woolen-factory was also started at a
comparatively early date. An overshot-wheel made for this establishment by
Elijah Green was the first one used in this part of the country.

During the same year, James Monroe started a furnace and shop designed for
the manufacture of stoves, thrashers, and general jobbing work. The shop was
situated on the east side of Superior street, where business was continued until

1859, and employment given to from fifteen to twenty men. Messrs. Finch &
Sheldon purchased the establishment in 1859, and sold in 1863 to Messrs. Lane
& Ensign. The latter retired at the expiration of a year, and was succeeded by
Walter Porter. Lane & Porter employed from twelve to fifteen men, and prose-
cuted the iron trade till 1866, when they in turn sold out, 0. C. Gale & Co. being
purchasers. These parties began, in 1866, the manufacture of the " sulky rake."
The product of 1870, the first year, was eleven rakes. The next year a patent
was secured for a rake of their own design, and two hundred were manufactured.
In 1872 five hundred were built, and over a score of men found steady employment.

The Gale Manufacturing Company was formed in 1873, with a paid-up capital
of fifty-eight thousand dollars. Increased means gave augmented business, and
seven hundred chilled plows and one thousand rakes were made. The capital
was augmented in 1874 to seventy-five thousand dollars; forty-five men were em-
ployed ; five thousand plows and twelve hundred rakes were made. A second
time the capital was increased, and, in 1876, with one hundred thousand dollars,
seven thousand plows and twelve hundred rakes were built. The number of men
on the pay-roll in 1877 — a year of great depression in manufacture generally — is
eighty-nine. Eight thousand five hundred pounds of iron #re melted daily.

0. C. Gale & Co. erected their first brick shop in 1868, and have since made
several additions, till their works now cover nearly an acre of ground.* Their
annual consumption of pig-iron and scrap equals fifteen thousand tons ; of wrought
iron, one hundred tons ; malleable iron, three thousand tons ; coal, five hundred
tons ; and of various kinds of wood, four hundred thousand feet. The present
officers of the company are 0. C. Gale, president ; E. W. Hollingsworth, vice-
president ; S. P. Brockway, secretary and treasurer ; A. Gale, superintendent, and
C. C. Lane, general agent.

Bennett, Knickerbocker & Co., Albion Stone Mills, have five run of stone, and
grind one hundred and twenty-five thousand bushels of wheat annually. Manu-
facturing by the new process, a fine grade results. The mill is strictly a merchant
one. The firm has another mill near the first, and in this a large custom business
is done. The number of hands now employed is twenty-five. Favorably located
in a rich agricultural section, the grain market annually averages one hundred and
thirty-five thousand bushels of wheat and ninety thousand bushels of oats. It is
thus seen to be one of the largest oat-markets in the State. The following firms
are engaged in the grain trade : Bennett, Knickerbocker & Co. and Wilson & Crit-
tenden in wheat, Knickerbocker & Fisher in oats, and J. M. Jameson and J. J.
Alley in wheat and oats. Sheldon & Fanning do a large business in tin-ware,
keeping twenty-two wagons on the road and supplying ten additional with goods.
They conduct a large grocery business, and run a tannery upon an extended basis.

The following exhibits the business of Albion in 1877 : a flouring-mill, a grist-
mill, a manufactory of rakes and plows, three of sash and blinds, a tannery, a
saw-mill, a tinware-factory, two planing-mills, a machine-shop, a wool carding-
mill, two hardware-stores, six groceries, four dry-goods stores, one crockery, five
drug- and book-stores, four boot- and shoe-stores, four millinery-shops, three den-
tistries, two jeweler-shops, three markets, and two billiard-rooms. There are two
newspapers published, three banks find use for their capital, and fourteen phy-
sicians make the place their home.

THE UNION SCHOOLS OF ALBION.

The inception of these progressive institutions dates September 17, 1867, at
which time there was held in Howard Hall a meeting of the trustees of graded
school district No. 1, fractional of Albion and Sheridan; E. H. Johnson presided,
and W. E. Thornton acted as secretary. The following call was read :

" Whereas, the school inspectors of the townships of Albion and Sheridan, in
compliance with the law, united the following school districts, viz. : district No. 1,
of Albion, No. 1, fractional of Albion and Sheridan, and No. 3, fractional of
Sheridan and Albion, into one district, for the purpose of establishing a graded
school therein ; therefore, notice is hereby given that the legal voters of the
above newly-formed school district will be held at Howard Hall, in the village of
Albion, on Tuesday evening, September 19, 1867, for the purpose of electing a
board of trustees, and for the transaction of such other business as may lawfully
come before the meeting." An election was then held, and the following were
chosen and constituted the first " board of trustees," viz.: Phineas Graves,
August Gale, Samuel Irwin, Charles W. Dalrymple, A. W. Fitch, and W. Bid-
well. Public halls were rented for school purposes, and the old Presbyterian
church was utilized as a school building until 1869, when three of the four ward
school-houses were erected.

At a meeting held September 29, 1871, the board authorized the proper officers
to issue the first installment of bonds, which amount was six thousand three hun-
dred dollars; the proceeds to be applied to the erection of a central school

* See illustration.

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THE GALE MANUFACTURING CO. Manufacturers of the celebrated gale chilled plows

AND &ALE WH£R HORSE RAKE A LB I N , MICHIGAN .

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

107

building, which was completed in September, 1872. This was accomplished at
a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars. The average cost of each of the four
ward buildings was twenty-six hundred dollars. All these structures are of brick,
and furnish accommodations for six hundred pupils. Schools are taught nine
and a half months. Three hundred and eighty-eight pupils are enrolled. The
salaries of 1877 amount to four thousand two hundred and fifty-six dollars, of
which the principal, Professor F. B. McClellan, receives thirteen hundred dollars.
The rest is apportioned among eleven female teachers.

THE NATIONAL EXCHANGE BANK

of Albion was organized August, 1865. Business was commenced on January
1, 1866, with fifty thousand dollars capital. This was augmented in October,
1873, to seventy-five thousand, and in 1875 to one hundred thousand dollars.
On the establishment of the bank, the following were chosen directors : S. Y.
Irwin, M. B. Wood, Gardner Herrick, GL S. Scranton, Charles W. Dalrymple,
Aleran Brusie, and William D. Fox. An election of officers resulted in the
choice of Samuel Y. Irwin, president ; M. B. Wood, vice-president ; and S. W.
Davis as cashier. We have noted the rapid and heavy increase of capital, — satis-
factory evidence of great prosperity, — and at the last statement the following was
included : there were of undivided profits, $21,873 ; individual deposits, $65,000 ;
and a circulation of $30,600, secured by government bonds amounting to
$34,000. Mr. Irwin continues to be president, W. O'Donoghue is vice-presi-
dent, and H. M. Bearing is cashier. The present board of directors is composed
of S. Y. Irwin, W. O'Donoghue, C. W. Dalrymple, W. D. Fox, E. A. Landon,
H. Gale, and C. H. Mann.

SOCIETIES.

Recognizing the advantages derived from union, and revering the ties of brother-
hood whose acknowledgment has done much for the unfortunate, the widow, and
the orphan, the citizens of Albion have emulated those of other localities in the
formation of lodge, chapter, and encampment.

Olive Branch Lodge, No. 14, F. A. M., was instituted on May 9, 1846, and
the following-named officers chosen : Clement Trowbridge, W. M. ; Ruel B.
Lewis, S. W. ; Emery Potter, J. W. ; Hiram Howell, S. D. ; Julius Chamber-
lain, J. D. ; Wareham Warner, Treasurer ; John Burt, Tyler ; and H. Fletcher,
Secretary. Shortly after organizing, the lodge name was changed to Murat Lodge.
The present officers are Eugene P. Robertson, W. M. ; T. W. Sheldon, S. W. ;
O. G. Hubbard, J. W. ; William Steele, S. D. ; N. Davis, J. D. ; F. P. Glass-
cuff, Tyler, and A. B. Huse, Secretary.

There hangs upon the hall wall of Murat lodge an ancient relic. It is a
Masonic apron, the material silk, the emblems those of the order, and beneath
them the following inscription : — " To the Worshipful Master, Wardens, and
Brothers of Murat Lodge, F. A. M. The undersigned, appreciating your vene-
ration for our ancient order as manifested to him, a member of the fraternity of
fifty years' standing, and one who has passed the age of fourscore years and ten,
feeling the sands of his life are nearly spent and that he must soon pass that
bourne from which no traveler returns, fraternally presents to your lodge as a
memento of the past, the annexed Masonic apron. This apron was obtained by
the undersigned in 1819 from brother Jacob Reynolds, a captain in the Ameri-
can Revolutionary army of 1776, who informed him that it had been worn in a
lodge of F. A. M. presided over by General George Washington, Benjamin
Franklin being Senior Warden thereof, and at the time when General La Fayette
was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason. This relic of our ancient
and honorable institution I bequeath to you. Please accept it as a memento of
my veneration for it, with this solemn admonition, that you, as Free and Accepted
Masons, ever bear in mind the ladder which Jacob saw in his vision ascending
from earth to heaven, the principal rounds of which represent Faith, Hope, and
Charity. May the Grand Master of the universe guide and direct you in the
paths of virtue and justice, is the prayer of your aged brother.

" Fraternally yours,
" Given November- 15, 1869, and 5869." " Josiah Whitman."

Albion Chapter, R. A. M., was organized on March 10, 1864, and the following
were chosen to act as its officers : Milton Osborn, H. P. ; S. G. Saunders, K. ;
George W. Cady, Scribe ; George W. Clark, C. H. ; Marcus Lane, P. S. ; F. W.
Sheldon, R. A. C. ; O. B. Rogers, G. M. 3d V. ; L. Kinney, G. M. 2d V. ; D.
V. Rogers, G. M. 1st V.; William A. Warner, Treasurer; H. C. Hartrung,
Sentinel. Present officers are F. W. Sheldon, H. P. ; Eugene P. Robertson, K. ;
William Steele, Scribe ; J. W. Clark, C. H. ; E. A. Isman, R. S. ; George W.
McCormick, R. A. C. ; O. W. Robertson, G. M. 3d V. ; Y. B. Cosad, G. M. 2d
V. ; D. Douglass, G. M. 1st Y. ; Charles W. Dalrymple, Treasurer ; Charles
Diffenbough, Secretary ; and Samuel G. Saunders, Sentinel.

Albion Encampment, No. 63, i". O. O. F, was organized on March 25, 1874,
with the following officers : W. H. Watkins, C. P. ; W. H. Brockway, H. P. ;
F. W. Crittenden, Scribe ; M. C. Moor, Treasurer ; and J. R. Sackett, J. W.
The present officers are F. B. McClellan, C. P. ; L. H. Baughman, H. P. ; W.
D. Fox, S. W. ; C. H. Hoag, Scribe; H. W. Whitney, Treasurer; and L. H.
Brockway, J. W.

Albion Lodge, I. O. O. F., was instituted January 22, 1847, with the following
officers : John L. Sackett, N. G. ; S. J. Henderson, Y. G. ; Joseph French, R. S. ;
and John S. Scott, Treasurer. The present officers are F. B. McClellan, N. G. ;
D. Y. Aldrich, Y. G. ; C. H. Dascum, R. S. ; George F. Barry, P. S. ; and
William B. Sutherland, Treasurer.

The Sons of Temperance were organized on January 18, 1875. The first
officers were C. S. Dascum, D. G. W. P. ; C. W. Boyce, W. P. ; Mrs. C. S.
Dascum, W. A. ; John M. Hall, R. S. ; Miss Hatty Dougherty, A. R. S. ; William
J. White, Treasurer; A. C. Amiden, F. S. ; Rev. Levi Farr, Chaplain; D. C.
Huffman, Conductor; Mrs. W. J. White, A. C. ; G. E. Murdock, P. W. P. ;
Miss Elsie Loomis, I. S. ; and F. Preston, O. S. At present Phineas Graves is
D. G. W. P., and Miss E. W. Hollingworth is W. A.

Oppressive taxation of national banks would seem to indicate a popular feeling
antagonistic to their existence, yet it is indisputable that never till their origin
was the money of the people secure. In Albion a private banking and exchange
office was started by M. Hannas & Son during the year 1853. J. W. Sheldon
was employed in the office, to whose control he succeeded in 1858, and has con-
tinued in the business at the same office until the present. The institution is
known as " Albion Exchange Bank," J. W. Sheldon, president, and Eugene P.
Robertson, cashier.

THE PEABODY COLLECTION AND DEPOSIT BANK

began business in 1876, with J. Peabody, proprietor.

THE NATIONAL EXCHANGE BANK

was organized January 1, 1866, with a capital of $50,000. This was increased,
October 1, 1873, to $75,000 ; and on July 1, 1875, to $100,000. The directors
were S. W. Irwin, A. Herrick, A. Breeze, M. B. Wood, W. D. Fox, and C. W.
Dalrymple. D. V. Irwin was elected president, M. B. Wood, vice-president, and
C. W. Davis, cashier. The last dying, L. B. Miner was elected to fill the vacancy.
At the close of business April 14, 1877, the bank showed total resources amount-
ing to $208,749.77, of which $130,977.83 were loans and discounts.

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF ALBION

was organized in 1836, with the following members : Almen and Lurensa Herrick,
Betsey Montcalm, Mrs. Ercambrack, Thomas Pray, Polly Pray, Charles M. Cobb,
and Armenia Cobb. Soon after the founding of the church, its roll was lengthened
by the added names of Champion Eslew and his wife Phebe, and Peter and Mar-
garet Williamson. In 1837 the school trustees of the village let a contract to
build a school-house. The different church organizations severally contributed
the sum of one hundred dollars to secure the enlargement of the structure and a
right to its use upon the Sabbath as a place of worship.

In 1839 the members of the Methodist Episcopal society built for themselves
a small church on Porter street, east of the river, on land now owned by J.
Wright. In 1849 and 1850 a new structure was commenced, and dedicated Sep-
tember 19 of the latter year by Bishop Morris, during the session of the Mich-
igan conference. It stands on Erie street, and has received additions from time
to time as necessity demanded. A new casement was added in 1876. The value
of the property is estimated at ten thousand dollars. All the first members, save
C. M. Cobb and L. Herrick (now widow Smith, of Kalamazoo), are of the dead.

The first sermon was delivered by Rev. Henry Ercambrack, in 1834. His
successors have been as follows: Thomas Wiley, 1834; J. F. Davidson, 1835 ;
F. A. Sealior and E. H. Pilcher, 1836; Elijah Crane, 1837; G. Breckenridge
and F. S. Jakway, 1838 ; R, S. Blowers, 1839 ; M. G. Perkizer and John Kinmer,
1840 ; J. Brown and Boswell Parker, 1841 ; Allen Staples and J. Bennett, 1842
John Ercambrack, 1843-44 ; W. H. Collins, 1845 ; William Smithersill, 1846
J. E. Parker, 1847-48 ; J. S. Davidson, 1849-50 ; B. Sapp, 1851 and 1861
F. A. Blades, 1852-53; William Mahon, 1854-55; F. B. Bangs, 1856-57; E
Holdstock, 1858 ; R. Cogshall, 1859-60 ; D. Brum, 1862 ; R. O. Crawford, 1863
A. J. Eldred, 1864-65; D. F. Barnes, 1866-67; J. W. Robinson, 1868-69
J. C. Wirtley, 1870-71 ; H. M. Joy, 1872-73; Levi Farr, 1874; and W. H.
Perrine, D.D., 1875-77, and present pastor. The society has a membership of
three hundred and twenty-five. The Sunday-school enrolls one hundred and
seventy-five. It is superintended by C. W. Boyce, assisted by Phineas Graves.

A Methodist Episcopal church was early organized at South Albion, and is in
a flourishing condition.

108

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

THE BAPTIST CHURCH

was organized on February 21, 1837, at the school-house in Albion, Rev. J. S.
Z. Jones being moderator, and L. Crittenden, clerk. Mr. Jones was the first
pastor. A meeting was held in 1843, at which it was resolved to build a house
of worship. A committee was chosen to draft a plan. The dimensions agreed
upon were thirty-five by fifty feet. The church was commenced and finished in
1849, and on January 23, 1850, it was formally dedicated to the worship of God by
Rev. C. A. Jennison. During the afternoon of the same day, Aaron Potter was
ordained pastor. The present pastor is Rev. A. Maynard. The first trustees
were Leriah Lewis, Lyman Crittenden, and William B. Morrison. The present
board are Charles Austin, Samuel Jaquett, Ira Poster, Edward Rice, George
Harvey, and John Belcher. On November 28, 1851, the old trustees received the
deed of lot 5, block 11, and upon this land they built their church, which is sup-
plied with a bell and an organ ; the latter was put into the building in 1875, at a
cost of two hundred and fifty dollars. The church property in Albion is valued
at eleven thousand five hundred dollars. There is a membership of three hundred
and eighty-two. In the Sabbath-schools there are one hundred and eighty-three
scholars, and in the library there are six hundred and fifty books.

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The organization of the Presbyterian society took place on February 24, 1837,
in the ball-room of the old Albion hotel, located on the corner of Superior and
Erie streets. This initial result was brought about under the lead of Rev. Calvin
Clark. Twenty-four members were enrolled, and Rev. Elias Childs was placed in
charge. The pastors in succession have been Elias Childs, Mr. Trotter, S. Hawley,
Maltby Gelston, who served five years, James Vincent, David M. Cooper, whose
pastorate was extended to eight years, Mr. Marvin, Calvin Clark, Milo B. Gelston,
whose term included a period of nine years, Jeremiah Odel, Joel Kennedy, and
Edward H. Harvey, the last and present incumbent, who has officiated since
August 1, 1874.

Under the ministrations of these ministers the society has increased to one
hundred and forty members. The second church building was erected during
1857, at a cost of twelve thousand dollars. Its dimensions were forty by seventy
feet. On February 9, 1873, the structure was destroyed by fire, and the loss was
not covered by a single dollar's worth of insurance. A meeting was held the day
following the misfortune, and it was resolved to rebuild at once. Funds were
subscribed, and the old site on Porter street was chosen. The contract was let to
George W. Maher, of Albion, on September 1, 1873. The price of construction,
excepting the audience-rooms above, was nine thousand four hundred and forty-
nine dollars. The corner-stone was laid September 16, and the basement was
dedicated March 22 following. The audience-room is unfinished, but the society
is without debt. The Sabbath-school numbers one hundred. The pastor super-
intends.

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The organization of this society was effected during 1840. Services were first
held in the "old red school-house," under Rev. Francis Cummings, who was in
charge during the election of the first wardens, — Clement Trowbridge and F.
Wheelock, M.D., — and of the first vestry, consisting of Henry G. Whipple, R.
C. Hammill, and John E. Wild. A partial suspension occurred from 1850 to
1860, and in 1863 a reorganization was made, and a new start taken. Marcus
Lane served as rector from 1863 to 1865 ; Edward Seymour, from 1865 to 1867 ;
William G. Stonex, 1867 to 1870 ; and Rev. C. Peters has served from 1870 to
1877, and is still in charge. Deaths and removals reduced membership for a
time, when a rapid augmentation set in through the faithful efforts of the rector,
ably seconded by his people. The communicants number sixty-six.

The construction of a meeting-house was begun in 1849, and long lay incom-
plete. The work was resumed in 1865, during which it was finished. Consecra-
tion ceremonies by Right Rev. Samuel A. McCaskey were held on April 19, 1865.
A Sabbath-school was organized in 1863, discontinued in 1870, and resumed in
1871. Teachers and scholars number one hundred. The superintendent is the
rector, assisted by C. H. Baskom. The library contains two hundred volumes.

ALBION FIRE DEPARTMENT.

To guard against the ravages of the fiery element has been the aim of every
community, and few indeed are the villages to whom the necessity has not been
taught by dire experience. Prior to the incorporation of the village the town had
purchased and was owner of a small fire-engine, but practically it was of slight
utility. In 1856 the corporation purchased an excellent hand-engine, at a cost
of sixteen hundred dollars. A fire department was organized, with the following-
named officers: George Hannas, foreman; W. H. Bidwell, assistant secretary;
and C. W. Dalrymple, treasurer. The present officers are F. W. Sheldon, fore-
man ; Augustus Gale, assistant ; John Phipps, secretary ; and John Fanning,

treasurer. The department include among their fixtures hooks and ladders,
truck, and hose carriage. The whole is in charge of a chief engineer.

TOWN-MEETINGS AND OFFICIALS.

Natives of New England, or sprung from New England families, the pioneers
of Albion brought with them and planted here the same customs and enjoyed the
same privileges common at the old homes. Officers were needed, and the ques-
tion of an election being mooted, a caucus was convened in the road opposite the
residence of Charles D. Holmes, who, it may be stated, still occupies his original
entry, and is the only one in the township so situated. At this caucus about a
score of voters were present. During the meeting they sat upon a rail fence, and
put in nomination officers to serve during the year 1838. The meeting was one-
sided and thoroughly democratic. The first annual town-meeting was held in
April, 1837, at the house of A. Becker. William M. Pearl was chosen moderator,
and Stephen Blodgett secretary. The following-named persons were duly de-
clared elected : For Supervisor, James Sheldon ; Clerk, William Farley ; Asses-
sors, Cyrus Robertson and Ashbell Hewell ; Commissioners of Highways, Charles
D. Holmes and David Peabody ; Justices, A. W. Walker, L. D. Collimer, and
James Henderson ; Collector, George Bass ; Constables, Clark Knowles, William
Grimes, George Bass, and J. Harris ; School Commissioners, Cato Millington,
George Bass, and James Sheldon ; Inspectors of the Poor, Seth Knowles and
Levy Peabody ; Path-masters, L. B. Ring, Zenas Phelps, Stephen Willis, John
Bennett, Charles D. Holmes, William Knickerbocker, Perry Armstrong, Ashley
Harris, and W. Hopkins.

The present township officers are — Supervisor, Martin C. Benham ; Clerk, Wil-
liam S. Marsh ; Treasurer, John A. Tompkins ; Commissioner of Highways,
Charles M. Snyder ; Drain Commissioner, Alexander Cunningham ; Justices, A.
B. Hare, William Howard, William P. Morrison, and Willis P. Gardner ; Super-
intendent of Schools, S. E. Blashfield ; School Inspector, C. T. Smith ; Constables,
H. W. Crittenden, George Derning, W. A. Cunningham, and Ira J. Lambson.

The following is a list of the supervisors of the town of Albion from its organ-
ization to the present time, together with the time of each official's service : James
W. Sheldon, 1837 ; William Farley, 1838-39 ; Jesse Crowell, 1840 ; William
Farley, 1841-42 ; Cyrus Robertson, 1843 ; Frederick Wheelock, 1844 and 1846 ;
Henry W. Harris, 1845, 1848-49; Charles D. Holmes, 1847, 1850-51, 1864-
71; Samuel Hexford, 1852; William Farley, 1853, 1856; David F. Farley,
1857 and 1860 ; Henry Drake, 1861-62 ; William M. Knickerbocker, 1863,
1873-74 ; Osman Rice, 1870 (resigned) ; Abram Gridley, 1872 ; Anthony B.
Hays, 1875; and Martin C. Benham, 1876.

The assessment of 1876 for revenue purposes for the current fiscal year, 1876-
77, was fixed by the board of supervisors as follows : Real estate, $564,141 ; per-
sonal property, $95,200 ; total, $659,341. On this valuation the following taxes
were levied: For State purposes, $2196.71 ; for county purposes, $3899.50 ; for
township expenses, $518.10 ; the mill-tax, $1189.90; roads, $252.70; schools,
$7367.16 ; other purposes, $434.49 ; total taxes, $15,858.56 ; liquor taxes, 1876,
$676.50 ; total revenue, $16,535.06.

POPULATION.

The census returns of 1860 place the population of Albion township at 939
persons, composing 166 families, and of Albion village at 1720 persons, composing
329 families. In 1870 the returns gave Albion, including that portion of the
village lying in Albion township (the village proper not being returned separately)
2409 persons residing therein. In 1874 the village was not returned separately
from the township, and the whole population of the latter was given as 2614,
1304 of the persons being males and 1310 females. Of the 737 males over
twenty-one years of age, 458 were liable to military duty, and 279 were past such
burden in time of need, unless voluntarily in the ranks. Of 830 females over
eighteen years, 523 were of the age designated by the social statistician the maternal
age, being under forty years of age, and 307 had passed beyond that age. Of the
males over twenty-one years of age, 536 were or had been heads of families, and
170 had not enjoyed that honorable distinction. Of the females over eighteen
years, 537 had promised to love and honor, if not to obey, a liege lord, and 195
had never submitted to any such loss of independence.

THE POLITICAL BIAS

of the people of Albion is best shown by the balloting at the presidential elections,
which resulted as follows : in 1840 the Democratic vote was 124, and the Whigs
polled 40 ; in 1844 the pendulum began to swing to the other end of its arc, the
Democrats polling 152 votes, the Whigs 143, and the Liberty men numbering
a half-dozen; in 1848 the Democratic vote was 173, the Whig 157, and the
Freesoilers were 15 ; in 1852 the Democrats polled 183 votes, the Whigs 181, and

'"TWVf.. n"''

JACOB ANDERSON.

•%-. ^W '.<AT

L. H. £VO?f$ * GO. LITh. 716 FILBERT ST. rHILA.

Residence and Farm or JACOB AND

ACOB ANDERSON, Albion Tp., Calhoun Co. t fHtCH

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

109

the Abolitionists 9 ; in 1856 the young Republican party polled 271 votes, and the
Democratic vote was 192 ; in 1860 Lincoln received 313 votes, Douglas, 191,
Breckenridge, 9, and Bell, 4 ; in 1864 the Republican vote was 295, and the
Democratic 219 ; in 1868 the same parties cast 349 and 264 votes respectively;
in 1872 the Republicans cast 328 votes, and the Democrats gave Mr. Greeley
229, 0' Conor 2, and Jere. Black received 15 votes; in 1876 Governor Hayes,
the Republican candidate, received 402 votes, Governor Tilden received 321, and
Peter Cooper had a single friend.

In the rebellion Albion sent her citizens to the front to support the flag and
defend the integrity of the Union against its armed foes promptly and numerously.
She had a company in the celebrated Mechanics' and Engineers' regiment, Captain
John B. Yates, one in the Sixth Michigan Infantry, Captain Harrison Soules,
besides detachments in every other regiment in which Calhoun County was repre-
sented. The reputation of her soldiers was second to none in the Held, and they
gave to their township, their county, their State, and the Union their bravest
efforts and their best blood.

«#i

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

JACOB ANDERSON.

The subject of the present sketch is of German and Dutch extraction, the
ancestors of his father and mother coming from Germany and Holland respect-
ively, in the early part of the seventeenth century, to America. His parents,
William and Margaret (Demott) Anderson, were natives of New Jersey, where
Jacob was born, in Reading, Hunterdon county, October 5, 1818. He resided
with them until he was twenty-four years of age, at which time he married Eliza
Flumerfelt, daughter of George and Margaret (Henry) Flumerfelt, natives of
New Jersey also and of Dutch descent. The young people at once began to
carve out a home for themselves, working to that end on the farm of the husband's
father in Oxford, Warren county, New Jersey, until 1853, when, in April of
that year, they came to Macomb county, Michigan, where Mr. Anderson left his
family for six months, and spent the time himself principally in traveling
through Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, seeking a location, and ended his
search most satisfactorily by selecting his present location on sections 15 and 16,
in the township of Albion, purchasing two hundred acres, to which he has added
subsequently two hundred acres, three hundred and fifty acres of which are under
the plow. The only improvements there were on the farm at the date of his pur-
chase were a log house and a stone stable, from which condition Mr. Anderson
has brought it to its present rank among the best, highest cultivated, and most
productive farms in Calhoun County. He has been one of the few prominent
wool-growers of the county, his clip running from two thousand to two thousand
four hundred pounds per year, an average of six pounds per sheep of washed
wool. He has always kept a flock of sheep, more or less numerous, since he
began farming, and has now a fine one of some three hundred and fifty graded
animals, whose wool is noted for its staple and weight per fleece. Mr. Anderson
also raises from two thousand to two thousand five hundred bushels of wheat
each year, the soil of his farm being excellently adapted to the culture of that
cereal. On another page may be seen a view of the really elegant farm-house
and capacious barns of Mr. Anderson, together with the portraits of himself and
his worthy helpmeet. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are as follows :
George F., now engaged as a commercial traveler, with headquarters at Topeka,
Kansas; William A., who is now occupying the second purchase of the home-
stead ; Margaret, now Mrs. J. H. Houck ; and Clark, unmarried and at home
with his father. In politics, Mr. Anderson belongs to the Democratic school.
He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church since 1836, and Mrs.
Anderson has been connected with the same church since 1840.

EDWIN H. JOHNSON.

The subject of the present sketch, Edwin H. Johnson, has been prominently
known throughout Calhoun County for forty years, though for the most part he
has held the post of honor, that of the private citizen. Until 1860 he was not
known oflicially to the people of Calhoun, but since then he has been honorably
connected with their most beneficent charity — the county almshouse. He has
seen it expand from the expenditure of a few hundred dollars per annum doled

out, grudgingly and reluctantly, to a few needy persons absolutely, or nearly so,
starving, scattered through the county, to the disbursement of over twenty
thousand dollars yearly in cash, in addition to the products of a fine farm, which
are consumed by the inmates of a comfortable and commodious almshouse, cared
for humanely, and plentifully fed and clothed.

Mr. Johnson was born in Granville, Washington county, New York, October
4, 1811, his father, Daniel Johnson, being a native of Massachusetts, and his
mother, Lovina (Parsons) Johnson, a native of Connecticut. His parents removed
to Herkimer county, New York, when he was two years old, and he continued to
reside with them until he was twelve, up to which time he had attended the dis-
trict schools of the township in which he resided, wherein he gained all of the
school education he ever had the opportunity of obtaining. At twelve years of
age he was apprenticed to his father's brother to learn the hatter's trade, and re-
mained with him till he was sixteen years old. From that time till he was twenty-
one years old he worked at farming in Herkimer county, and then turned his
attention to the millwright business, and followed it for three years in New York
State, and in the spring of 1836 came to Michigan, and pursued his calling for
eight years, until 1844, locating in Albion in 1839. In 1844, in company with
Marvin Hannahs, he built a flouring-mill in Albion, and continued in the flouring
business with Hannahs twenty years. In 1864 he disposed of his milling interest
and engaged in farming and selling drugs and medicines, the latter branch of business
being carried on in the village of Albion. These lines continued to engage his atten-
tion until 1876, when he retired from active business, and is now quietly enjoying
his otium cum dignitate in Albion, surrounded by his children, of whom he has
four living.

On the 31st day of January, 1839, Mr. Johnson met his fate, and was united
in marriage to an estimable lady, Miss Sophronia Thayer, a native of Romulus,
Seneca county, New York, born in September, 1818, but at the time of her mar-
riage a resident of Albion. She has borne to Mr. Johnson eight children, those
now living being Edwin H., now of Rock Island, Illinois, Carrie G., Ida E., and
Ada L., the latter two being twin sisters. Mr. Johnson was a Whig formerly
when that party was in existence, but joined the Republican party on its rise, and
has been connected therewith to the present time.

In 1860 he was elected by the board of supervisors of the county one of the
county superintendents of the poor for a term of three years, and re-elected in
1867, and has held the position continuously ever since by re-election at each
succeeding term.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are leading members of the Presbyterian church of
Albion, Mr. Johnson having been one of its trustees for twenty-five years past.

Mr. Johnson's continued re-election to the responsible position of county su-
perintendent of the poor — where judgment to discriminate between real merit and
imposition, firmness to do what is right regardless of clamor, and delicacy in
ministering to the wants of the unfortunate, are essential to full success — is the best
proof of the estimation in which he is held by his fellow-citizens of Calhoun.

On another page of our work, in connection with the history of the noble
charity of Calhoun with which Mr. Johnson has so long and honorably been
connected, we present his portrait, with those of his coadjutors for the past nine
years, — Judge Tolman W. Hall, of Battle Creek, and A. O. Hyde, of Marshall,
— as also a view of the almshouse and its worthy and humane keeper, H. L.
White.

110

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

CHARLES D. HOLMES.

The pioneer whose name forms the caption of our sketch, Charles D. Holmes,
comes of Scotch-Irish parentage. His ancestor numbering fourth from him,
Abraham Holmes, emigrated from the north of Ireland to America in 1717, and
located in Londonderry, New Hampshire. His son, John, had nine children, one
of whom, Thomas, was the grandfather of Charles D. He married Margaret
Patterson, by whom he had twelve children, the second son being Peter, born
October 10, 1783, and who married Olive Graves, December 26, 1809, by whom
nine children were born to him, the second son being the subject of our sketch,
Charles D. Holmes, who was born in the town of West Boylston, Worcester county ?
Massachusetts, July 20, 1814, and resided there until 1825, when he removed
with his father to Amherst, Hampshire county, in the same State, where he re-
sided until 1833, attending the Amherst academy, and assisting in his father's
business of the manufacture of fanning-mills. In the spring of the last-named
year, the father and older brother and himself located the present farm of Mr.
Holmes, on sections 22 and 23 in Albion township, purchasing one hundred and
twenty acres, adding other lands subsequently, until, at one time, the family owned
eight hundred acres. Mr. Holmes' present farm contains one hundred and fifty
acres, and is most excellently tilled, with improvements of the best character and
quality. He has been given to travel somewhat, having made two trips to Cal-
ifornia, and also to Colorado, and was a member of the first convention to frame
a constitution for the State. In 1851 Mr. Holmes' mother died, and the father
followed July 14, 1860.

Mr. Holmes was married on the 16th day of October, 1836, to Nancy Young,
daughter of Peter Young, a native of New Jersey. She was born in that State,
December 1, 1812, and removed therefrom, with her parents, to Cayuga county,
New York ; and from thence, in 1835, to Michigan. Mr. Holmes keeps up the
reputation of his ancestors in raising large families, having had borne to him the
following children : Olive H., now Mrs. Daniel Taylor, of Marshall ; Henry C,
of Muskegon county, Michigan ; Sarah J., now Mrs. Chauncey Saunders, of Union
City, Branch county ; Franklin G., now a prominent lawyer of Grand Rapids ;
Caroline E., now Mrs. Waldron Foster, of Coldwater ; George W., of Muskegon ;
Mary A., now Mrs. Henry Webb, of Medina, New York ; Charles L., of Mar-
shall ; Eva E., now Mrs. Manly Houston, of Fredonia ; Edwin P., on the home-
stead with his parents ; and Harriet P., who was born in 1857, and died in 1864.

In politics, Mr. Holmes is a Republican, being formerly a member of the Whig
party, and cast his first vote in 1836 for General Harrison. He was the first
commissioner of highways of Albion, and has held the position of supervisor of
his township for fifteen years, besides other town offices from time to time. He
was elected register of deeds of Calhoun County in 1872, and re-elected in 1874,
holding the office four years, and was a member of the constitutional convention
of Michigan in 1867. He has been a member of the Presbyterian church for
thirty-eight years, and his most estimable companion for forty years has been a
communicant of the same denomination. He has been liberal towards all public
institutions, and the church of his preference has ever found in him a stanch
supporter and generous friend.

THOMAS HOLMES.

A fine specimen of vigorous age, combining the freshness and elasticity of youth
with the ripeness and wisdom of mature years, is Thomas Holmes, of Albion
township. He was born March 12, 1817, and has never been confined to his
bed by illness to the present time. Well preserved, at peace with himself and the
rest of mankind, he is apparently destined to pass many years of quiet enjoyment
yet to come among his children and children's children. He was the fifth in a
family of nine children born to his parents, Colonel Peter and Olive (Graves)
Holmes, natives of New Hampshire. He was born in West Boylston, Worcester
county, Massachusetts. His father, who was born in Londonderry, New Hamp-
shire, in October, 1783, was a manufacturer and merchant, and largely interested
in building and operating one of the first cotton-mills in that part of New Eng-
land. At the close of the War of 1812 this enterprise became involved in the
general disaster that befell the entire manufacturing interests of the country, and
Colonel Holmes lost his entire investment, a misfortune from which he did not
find it easy to recover. In 1833 he resolved to seek a home in Michigan, and in
the spring of that year, accompanied by his two eldest sons, he came to Calhoun
County, and located on the northeast quarter, section 23, in Albion, and built
the fourth log house in the township, the remainder of the family coming on in
the fall of the same year. At this time there was not a store, school-house, post-
office, or church within fifteen miles ; no bridges, and the roads were but trails.
The family were ten days in getting from Detroit to Albion, and in coming
through what is now known as Main street in the city of Jackson they were
mired in a black-ash swamp.

The subject of our sketch received a common school education, and lived with
his father until twenty-five years of age, when he purchased the east half, section
14, in Albion, upon which he now resides. In the fall of 1842 he put in one
hundred and twenty acres of wheat, from which he harvested the succeeding year
three thousand bushels of grain. His land was wild oak openings when he pur-
chased, and is now, after the lapse of thirty-five years, one of the most excellent
farms in the county, — the transformation being effected by Mr. Holmes's own
efforts, ably seconded by his admirable wife and children. A view of his fine
buildings may be seen on another page. On the 25th day of March, 1847, Mr.
Holmes was united in marriage to Miss Caroline S. Luce, who has borne to him
six children, all of whom are now living. She was born in Gaines, Orleans
county, New York, April 9, 1822. In 1851 Mr. Holmes went to California,
where he remained three years. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.

SAMUEL E. DOUGLASS.

The subject of this sketch came to the town of Albion November 19, 1832,
from Parma, Monroe county, New York. His family consisted of himself, wife,
and three children. They came by water to Detroit, thence by team to Ypsilanti,

Wm.A. Warner.

Mrs.Wm.A. Warner,

Residence of Wm.A. WARNER, Albion, Calhoun Co., Mich.

Chandler M. Church.

Mrs. Lura Church.

^p^:^^ •-;»/ •

€ '»,V>^? *'** ?1 ? .' "<' : vVJH? -_>' /»: • .;: * ?>

First FramcHouse in Albion, erected bywaaeham Warner in 16*5.)

Resident of MRS, LURA CHURCH, and fesiotNce of the LateWAREHAM WARNER*,

ALBiON, MtCHWAM.

( Gilbert, Del. )

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Ill

and from there mostly on foot, an ox-team carrying their possessions. They
arrived at their destination in a driving storm of snow and sleet, with garments
frozen stiff, and without house to shelter or fire to warm them. No lumber could
be had nearer than Jackson, so they were compelled to put up a log house, with
a " shake" roof and white-ash floor. While it was building they stayed with
some friends in the town of Homer, and when finished they moved in and com-
menced to erect for themselves a home, as other pioneers had done elsewhere ;
by toil and privation, economy and perseverance, they made the inert forces of
nature succumb to the animate powers of man — the wilderness was turned into
fertile fields of grain and fruit-teeming orchards.

Samuel E. Douglass is deceased, but his widow, Mrs. Lucretia Douglass, sur-
vives, and is residing in Albion. Their eldest son, Delos,, is also dead ; their
remaining children, Lee P. and Daniel R., are living respectively in Jackson,
Michigan, and Pioche, Nevada.

Among other reminiscences kindly furnished us by Mrs. Douglass, we excerpt
the following: "The first school taught in the township was in the fall of 1833,
in one room of Samuel Douglass' log house, by Violetta Leach. The first few
years we were in Michigan we had a good many encounters with the Indians, but
I soon gained their friendship, and then did not fear them so much. During the
winter of 1834-35 the settlers had much trouble with them, but we, fortunately,
escaped persecution, as they considered my brother the chief ] and so called hirn.
I had considerable influence with them on account of being the chief's sister.
They encamped in the woods all about us, and would frequently go to Bellevue and
Marshall and get intoxicated, at which times they were very hostile. I have stayed
all alone with my children, seven miles from any white persons, and my husband
away, when the Indians would come at night, intoxicated, and try to crawl down
the chimney, but never happened to effect an entrance. Often they would come
fifty at a time, and hang about the house for two or three hours. During the
Black Hawk war a party went by, and soon after two young savages came back
all painted up, seeing which my fears were greatly aroused, but I knew it would
not do to let them know I was afraid. One asked for a drink of bish (water) ;
I told him there was none in the house, gave him a pail, and told him to go and
get some. They refused, and demanded I should get it. I replied, 1 1 will not.'
They responded that I must, whereupon I picked up my baby and said I would
go and tell schmoheman (white chief), when they looked at each other, laughed,
conferred together for a few moments, and went off in an opposite direction from
the main party. My husband being absent, and not returning until ten o'clock
that night, I think I underwent more torture than at any other time during all
our pioneer life."

WILLIAM A. WARNER.

Prominent among the thrifty and prosperous yeomanry of Calhoun County
stands the subject of our present sketch, William A. Warner, who, though some-
what of a rover in his earlier days, is at present located on one of the best farms
of Albion township, which he purchased in 1840, and has resided thereon for the
greater portion of the time since. He was a non-commissioned officer in the
patriot army of General Sam. Houston, in the war of independence in Texas, for
two years, and was engaged in trade in California during the first rush to that
El Dorado in 1849. He came to Michigan in 1834 with his father, Wareham
Warner, and his family, settling with them in South Albion, Calhoun County.
He bought his first location for himself in 1838, and sold the same in 1840, pur-
chasing the same year his present one of three hundred acres, to which he has
added sixty-five more subsequently, which is situated on section 6, in Albion
township. He owns, besides, other tracts in Marengo township. On his present
farm there was no house, and but little improvement when he bought it, and by
his own industry and management he has brought it to its present excellent state
of cultivation. A view of his comfortable dwelling and capacious barns will be
seen on another page of our work. He has paid considerable attention to stock-
raising. Mr. Warner was born in the township of Gorham, Ontario connty, New
York, and was united in marriage, April 9, 1839, to Mary J., daughter of Asahel
and Julia (Wilcox) Finch, natives of the State of New York.

The children of this union were as follows: Wareham, now deceased; Julia
M , now Mrs. C. A. Green, of Clinton, Iowa; Martha, now Mrs. Philip Weitzel,
of Marengo, Calhoun County ; Hettie E., now Mrs. Henry Bradley, of Eckford',
Calhoun County ; Lura A., now Mrs. C. B. Wisner, of Ionia, Michigan ; Man-
dana G., now attending Albion female college; William R., Mary T., R. Belle,
and James D., the last four named being residents under the home-roof on the
old homestead. Mr. Warner is Democratic in politics, and liberal in religion.

WAREHAM WARNER.

One of the original proprietors of the village of Albion, a man ot energy and
undaunted purpose, of strict integrity, and remarked for his benevolence and
charitable works during a long and useful career, Wareham Warner has been
accorded a position in our work among the pioneers of Calhoun, his portrait and
biography being presented to the people of the county by his children, who still
linger amid the pleasant places hallowed by the memories of him who led them
forward from childhood to maturity, and taught them industry, integrity, and
charity. He was born in Connecticut in 1779, during the great struggle for
American independence, and died amid the fierce and bitter strife of the Kansas-
Nebraska times, in 1854, aged seventy-five years. When a child he emigrated to
Chenango county, New York, where, at the age of twenty-one years, he married
Cynthia Adams, with whom he lived most happily for many years. He removed
to Ontario county, New York, and in 1816 took up the line of march for Parma,
Monroe county, in the same State. During his sojourn in the State of New York
his life was that of a pioneer, full of the arduous toil consequent upon clearing
up heavily-timbered farms, and checkered with the incidents that unavoidably
attend life in a new and wild country. In the year 1831 the news from the oak
openings and prairies of Michigan reached him, and though past the meridian of
life, the desire for a " better country" so strongly influenced his mind, he obeyed
its dictates, and followed in the train of the fast increasing emigration to the west,
and stopped at Marshall, Calhoun County, where he found a few log houses and a
score of live, energetic men trying to build a city. Here he remained a brief
period only, but sufficiently long to carry the chain in the survey of the village
plot of the now prosperous and beautiful city of Marshall, and to so fix his admira-
tion of and desire for a residence in Calhoun County, that though he returned to
his eastern home, it was for a length of time sufficient only to close out his busi-
ness and dispose of his property there, and return to the forks of the Kalamazoo
in 1834. Here, in company with Tenney Peabody, he began to build up the village
of Albion, and erected the first house built on the south side of the river therein,
and cooked his first meal by the side of a log, ate the same from a board, and drank
for his beverage the clear water from the Kalamazoo that rippled by his feet. In
1835 the company began the building of a dam, digging a race and erecting a
saw-mill. Mr. Warner also built the first frame house in the village, dug the first
well, built the first barn, and thus began, as his children say, to live in a civilized
way. He also purchased several tracts of land from the government, some of
which include the best farms in the townships in which they are located. In
politics, Mr. Warner was a Democrat, and was a liberal and generous supporter of
the church. He was the father of ten children.

112

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

THERON SOULE.

Every one comes within the observation of others, and the impress of character
is unconsciously received, not alone by personal association, but by record of
existence. Hence the advantage of extending the field of biographic research
and instancing examples not among the opulent and entitled, but among the con-
servative and substantial middle class. A fit subject in this connection is found
in the life and services of Theron Soule, son of Isaac and Cynthia (Carter) Soule,
born in Freehold, Greene county, New York, on May 26, 1807. He was the
third of a family of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters.

In 1821 and in 1823 removals were made by Isaac Soule and family, in the
first instance to Livingston county, and thence to Murray, Orleans county, New
York. Prior to 1835 Mr. Soule engaged in farming, and later gave his attention
to mercantile pursuits. In 1837 the north part of the township of Murray was
organized into a new township called Kendall, and at the first election Mr. Soule
was chosen town clerk. On September 7 of the same year he married Sarah,
daughter of Captain Luman and Ruah (Scofield) Foot. Mrs. Soule was born at
Saratoga, April 19, 1816, and previous to marriage was known as a teacher in
Brockport, Monroe county, New York. Her death took place April 7, 1841, and
was followed by the removal of Mr. Soule to Michigan. He took up his residence
in Sheridan, where, on December 7, 1841, he married his present wife, the widow
of Seth Dean, and the daughter of Andrew and Eunice Pickens. Mrs. Soule is
a native of Ernestown, Upper Canada, where she was born July 18, 1815.
In 1818 her parents moved to Orleans county, New York, and their child resided

with her grandfather, Felix Auger, until November 12, 1834, when she married
Seth Dean, who moved to Sheridan in 1856, and there died four years later.

Shortly after his second marriage Mr. Soule removed to Homer, and engaged
in keeping a hotel, but soon returned to Kendall, where he remained until 1843.
On May 4 of that year he set out with his family, in a two-horse wagon, for
Michigan, and once more settling in the town of Sheridan, has made that locality
his permanent residence. He bought two hundred and eighty acres of section
22, in Sheridan, and there lived for ten years; and when, in 1866, he sold this
farm, now owned by A. Schenck, it was reputed one of the best in Sheridan.

During the spring of 1866, Mr. Soule purchased the brick house now his resi-
dence, and in 1869 associated with Gr. N. Davis to erect the opera-house in the
village of Albion. Of a speculative turn, he has dealt largely in both wild and
improved lands, and by uniting industry with forethought has obtained a com-
petence. Believing that he who subserves public interest advances his own, Mr.
Soule has ever been forward in advancing public measures of utility, and has
ranked among the leading men of the town. His life presents an example of the
success which awaits all who, however poor, are willing to make the efforts which
are indispensable to wealth. A self-made man, Mr. Soule has been fortunate in
his companion in life ; his wife has been a true helpmeet, and is held in esteem
by all her acquaintance. Mrs. Soule had by her first husband one daughter,
Laura M. Dean, born August 29, 1836, now married to Mr. G. W. Davis, of
Grand Rapids. Mr. Soule had by his first wife two daughters, Sarah R. Soule,
born May 30, 1838, now married to Mr. James Fleming, of Nashville; Frances
A. Soule, born Sept. 14, 1839, married Edwin Densmore, of Mackinaw, Mich.

■^- «**

MRS. THERON SOULE.

MRS. L S. GOODRICH.

^v.

' ,l -^e

TENNEY PEABODY.

MRS. TENNEY PEABODY.

TENNEY PEABODY.

One of the prominent citizens of Calhoun County was Tenney Peabody, whose
name forms the caption of the present sketch. He was the first settler in the
village of Albion, or its near vicinity, coming thereto in the year 1831 while yet
it was an unbroken forest, his family, consisting of his wife and seven children,
and a nephew, named Charles Blan chard, arriving on his location March 4, 1832.
He emigrated from Campville (now Alcott), Niagara county, New York. He
was born in Nottingham, Rockingham county, New Hampshire, December 28,
1792, being the son of David and Eunice (Cross) Peabody, natives of the State
of Massachusetts. In the year 1814 he was united in marriage to Eleanor
Thompson, by whom were borne to him eleven children, six sons and five daughters,
of whom the following survive at the present time : Louisa P., now Mrs. W. II .
Johnson, of Kalamazoo ; Julia A., now Mrs. M. H. Crane, of Albion ; James
W., now of Albion ; May E., now Mrs. James W. Sheldon, of Albion, and John
M., of Albion.

He built the first house in Albion, a log cabin, on the site of the Presbyterian

church now standing in the village, but afterwards removed to a new location on
the opposite side of the street, in the township of Sheridan. Mr. Peabody was
connected with the Albion company, which was formed to build up the town, and
was foremost in all work which he considered conducive to the prosperity of the
same. He was, however, careful to weigh closely all enterprises, and when con-
vinced they would be likely to secure the results sought for, gave them a libera
and judicious support, and never contracted an obligation he could not see his way
clearly to discharge. In politics he was originally a Democrat, but on the organi-
zation of the Republican party, cast his influence on the side of the same, and
remained true to his allegiance until his death.

He would not assume political oflice, but looked after the general interests of
the township and village with commendable zeal and judgment. He was not a
member of any church organization, but was liberal in his religious views, and a
close thinker, and tenacious in argument on scriptural questions.

Mrs. Peabody was born in Pittsfield, New York, October 18, 1794.

WILLIAM M. KNICKERBOCKER.

MRS. WILLIAM M. KNICKERBOCKER.

WILLIAM M. KNICKERBOCKER.

As the family name suggests, lie of whose life we essay a brief sketch was of
Dutch extraction. Tradition has it that the heads of the family in America were
three brothers who came from Holland and settled, — one in New York city, then
known as Manhattan of the New Netherlands, one on Dover Plains, and the
other on Pine Plains, New York. The subject of this sketch claims his descent
from the Pine Plains branch of the family, where he was born, August 29, 1811,
being the twelfth of a family of thirteen children. His father, Hugh Knicker-
bocker, was born July 30, 1761, and his mother, Rachel Scram, December 1, 1769.
The parents were married June 11, 1786. They were of the world's poor, and
in consequence William was thrown at an early age upon his own resources. He
obtained as good a common-school education as the times in which he lived and
his opportunities afforded. In the fall of 1829 he went to the town of Elba,
Genessee county, in the same State, and engaged in farming, continuing the
business until the fall of 1835, when he came to Yan Buren county, Michigan,
and located a farm, which he afterwards sold, and purchased his present location
on section 23, in the township of Albion. Returning to Genessee county imme-
diately after his last purchase, he was united in marriage to Miss Harriet S.
Babcock, August 17, 1836. She was born in the town of Elba, April 18, 1816,
and was a daughter of Asa and Lydia (Tupper) Babcock, and the third in a
family of seven children. She was a most excellent teacher. After their mar-
riage the young couple removed to the location the husband had previously secured,
where for forty years they have shared life's struggles and sorrows, its joys and

pleasures, building for themselves and their children a pleasant home, around
whose hearth-stone four of the latter have gathered and gone out from, two to
the " undiscovered country whence no traveler returns," and one, a daughter,
to a home of her own and the man of her choice. The children were George
M., Harriet E., — now deceased, — Jane Ellen, now the wife of C. W. Dalrymple,
Esq., and Sarah A., also deceased.

Mr. Knickerbocker has been a prominent and useful man in his township, and
enjoys the confidence of the people, who have largely intrusted their interests
to his care in the position of highway commissioner, which he has held fifteen
years from the reorganization of the township as now constituted, and township
treasurer, supervisor, and justice of the peace for several terms each. During
the Rebellion he was a stanch upholder of the Union, and held the position of
enrolling officer of the township. Mr. and Mrs. Knickerbocker are members of
the South Albion Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has been the chor-
ister for thirty-five years, and is at present one of its trustees. Mr. Knicker-
bocker is and has ever been a liberal, public-spirited man, generous in his dona-
tions to Albion college and other public institutions, religious and otherwise.
His children have had the advantages of acquiring an education, which their
father had not, all of them attending on the instruction of the college. This
pioneer pair, after surmounting the difficulties and privations of their early lives,
are now enjoying the fruits of their labor, richly merited, and possess that price-
less jewel, " a conscience void of offense," intentional, towards their fellow-men.

TENNEY PEABODY.

MRS. TENNEY PEABODY.

TENNEY PEABODY.

One of the prominent citizens of Calhoun County was Tenney Peabody, whose
name forms the caption of the present sketch. He was the first settler in the
village of Albion, or its near vicinity, coming thereto in the year 1831 while yet
it was an unbroken forest, his family, consisting of his wife and seven children,
and a nephew, named Charles Blanchard, arriving on his location March 4, 1832.
He emigrated from Campville (now Alcott), Niagara county, New York. He
was born in Nottingham, Kockingham county, New Hampshire, December 28,
1792, being the son of David and Eunice (Cross) Peabody, natives of the State
of Massachusetts. In the year 1814 he was united in marriage to Eleanor
Thompson, by whom were borne to him eleven children, six sons and five daughters,
of whom the following survive at the present time : Louisa P., now Mrs. W. H.
Johnson, of Kalamazoo; Julia A., now Mrs. M. H. Crane, of Albion; James
W., now of Albion ; May E., now Mrs. James W. Sheldon, of Albion, and John
M., of Albion.

£e built the first house in Albion, a log cabin, on the site of the Presbyterian

church now standing in the village, but afterwards removed to a new location on
the opposite side of the street, in the township of Sheridan. Mr. Peabody was
connected with the Albion company, which was formed to build up the town, and
was foremost in all work which he considered conducive to the prosperity of the
same. He was, however, careful to weigh closely all enterprises, and when con-
vinced they would be likely to secure the results sought for, gave them a libera
and judicious support, and never contracted an obligation he could not see his way
clearly to discharge. In politics he was originally a Democrat, but on the organi-
zation of the Republican party, cast his influence on the side of the same, and
remained true to his allegiance until his death.

He would not assume political office, but looked after the general interests of
the township and village with commendable zeal and judgment. He was not a
member of any church organization, but was liberal in his religious views, and a
close thinker, and tenacious in argument on scriptural questions.

Mrs. Peabody was born in Pittsfield, New York, October 18, 1794.

WTLLTAM M. KNICKERBOCKER.

MRS. WILLIAM M. KNICKERBOCKER.

WILLIAM M. KNICKERBOCKER.

As the family name suggests, he of whose life we essay a brief sketch was of
Dutch extraction. Tradition has it that the heads of the family in America were
three brothers who came from Holland and settled, — one in New York city, then
known as Manhattan of the New Netherlands, one on Dover Plains, and the
other on Pine Plains, New York. The subject of this sketch claims his descent
from the Pine Plains branch of the family, where he was born, August 29, 1811,
being the twelfth of a family of thirteen children. His father, Hugh Knicker-
bocker, was born July 30, 1761, and his mother, Rachel Scram, December 1, 1769.
The parents were married June 11, 1786. They were of the world's poor, and
in consequence William was thrown at an early age upon his own resources. He
obtained as good a common-school education as the times in which he lived and
.his opportunities afforded. In the fall of 1829 he went to the town of Elba,
Genessee county, in the same State, and engaged in farming, continuing the
business until the fall of 1835, when he came to Yan Buren county, Michigan,
and located a farm, which he afterwards sold, and purchased his present location
on section 23, in the township of Albion. Returning to Genessee county imme-
diately after his last purchase, he was united in marriage to Miss Harriet S.
Babcock, August 17, 1836. She was born in the town of Elba, April 18, 1816,
and was a daughter of Asa and Lydia (Tupper) Babcock, and the third in a
family of seven children. She was a most excellent teacher. After their mar-
riage the young couple removed to the location the husband had previously secured,
where for forty years they have shared life's struggles and sorrows, its joys and

pleasures, building for themselves and their children a pleasant home, around
whose hearth-stone four of the latter have gathered and gone out from, two to
the " undiscovered country whence no traveler returns," and one, a daughter,
to a home of her own and the man of her choice. The children were George
M., Harriet E., — now deceased, — Jane Ellen, now the wife of C. W. Dalrymple,
Esq., and Sarah A., also deceased.

Mr. Knickerbocker has been a prominent and useful man in his township, and
enjoys the confidence of the people, who have largely intrusted their interests
to his care in the position of highway commissioner, which he has held fifteen
years from the reorganization of the township as now constituted, and township
treasurer, supervisor, and justice of the peace for several terms each. During
the Rebellion he was a stanch upholder of the Union, and held the position of
enrolling officer of the township. Mr. and Mrs. Knickerbocker are members of
the South Albion Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has been the chor-
ister for thirty-five years, and is at present one of its trustees. Mr. Knicker-
bocker is and has ever been a liberal, public-spirited man, generous in his dona-
tions to Albion college and other public institutions, religious and otherwise.
His children have had the advantages of acquiring an education, which their
father had not, all of them attending on the instruction of the college. This
pioneer pair, after surmounting the difficulties and privations of their early lives,
are now enjoying the fruits of their labor, richly merited, and possess that price-
less jewel, " a conscience void of offense," intentional, towards their fellow-men.

LEE TOWNSHIP.

It is not unfrequently observed that a roadway marks the division between
lands totally different ; so physical features common to one section are absent from
another, and townships varying in position are unlike geographically. Amidst
eastern nations, kuown as civilized and enlightened, the boundaries of provinces,
and even parishes, mark distinctions of race, language, and custom ; hence the
individual detail of township features, far from monotonous, tends to a complete
description.

The location of Lee township, Calhoun County, is in the northern tier of town-
ships, between Clarence and Convis. An extensive marsh, commonly known as
the " Tamarack Swamp," extending through the centre of the town, comprises
nearly one-half its area. The land on each side of this morass was originally
covered with a heavy timber growth, of which some portions are yet preserved.
The woodlands of Lee have been the source of considerable revenue to the towns-
men, and have furnished a supply of lumber to the lower portions of the county.
The oak, beech, maple, ash, basswood, and whitewood are among the principal
woods. A strip of land, about two miles wide, extends from east to west, through
the north of the town ; and a similar strip, a mile in width, located southward, lies
in the same direction. These tracts are available for cultivation, and from them
good average crops are raised. Wheat and corn are staple products. Fruit is
also grown to a considerable extent. Garden vegetables for home consumption
are cultivated. From the maple some sugar is annually manufactured, but not
in the quantity earlier known, when settlers were thrown upon their own resources.
During the years of settlement the sugar from this source was the only supply of
the inhabitants, the difficulty of obtaining any other making its production a
necessity.

It was a matter of rivalry among the good housewives as to which should pro-
duce the finest quality. By some process of clarifying, this home-made sugar
would rival the refined products of the cane made at the present day. This
choice article was only brought upon the table on special occasions, to honor the
guest and exhibit home handiwork. But few maple-orchards remain at this day,
and these are opened more as a rarity than as a means of subsistence. In the
early days the need of a stimulant to replace coffee resulted in the substitution of
acorns, rye, and wheat, none of which proved as palatable as the coffee berry of
Brazil or the Indias. Tea was steeped from the wild sage, and barely answered
as a substitute. Various expedients were adopted in keeping with those named
to supply the place of luxuries grown to be necessaries by use, but with growth
and convenience all were long since abandoned for the original, and the day of
substitution has gone by.

Difficulty of transportation was a serious check to progress. What availed the
treasures of timber and the wealth of grain without a market ? There was abund-
ance at the farm, but it was raised at home and there remained.

The construction of railroads has wrought many changes, and, linking State
with State, has created a market in every county and brought to each village the
products of distant lands. The time has nearly arrived when the people of Lee
shall hear the trains rumbling upon an iron road through their territory. Already
cuts have been made and grading is far advanced upon the Marshall and Cold-
water Railroad, whose route is across the western portion of the township. It is
intended to lay the rails and operate the road during the summer. The land-
owners and others look to this event with hopefulness as an opportunity to market
the surplus lumber and grain to the best advantage, and it is expected that the
completion of the road will mark an era of growth and prosperity. Mills for
sawing will be erected, depots for grain purchase established, and teaming will
become obsolete.

Lands now timbered will be cleared for tillage, and agricultural resources greatly
strengthened. Such has been the result elsewhere, and the railroad is regarded,
with reason, as an agency of much importance.

To pioneers upon these lands the outlook had little to encourage. Heavy woods
covered the land, and harbored wild beasts, while straggling Indians, quarrelsome
and thievish, contributed to the settlers' annoyance. The wolf and the bear were
destructive to live stock, and Indian depredators aroused the townsmen to drive
them from the township. A party organized and made an attack upon an Indian
village located near what is now Lee Centre. Lodges were demolished, and the
occupants rudely ejected from their homes. The act was variously regarded, and
15

parties in Marshall, friendly to the Indians, entered complaint against the leading
raiders. Several were arrested, taken to Marshall, tried, found guilty, and sen-
tenced to fines of from twenty-five to one hundred dollars, and three months'
confinement in the county jail.

THE PIONEERS OF LEE.

Opinions differed as to the best lands and the choice locations. In many places
the comparatively high lands were denuded of timber and given to a semi-profitless
cultivation, while the rich lowlands, partially water-covered, were left as found.
There were those who traversing the territory of Lee saw enough of promise to
induce permanent residence. In the spring of 1835 Amos Hadden and Nicholas
Stanley entered and occupied a part of section 36, in the southeast part of the
town. The former yet resides on the old place. His neighbor, Mr. Stanley, lost
his life by the caving in of a well in which he was at work.

Children are lost in populous cities, and press, police, and detective, stimulated
by promised reward, fail to restore them to their homes ; how much the more peril
in the early day to the child lost in pathless woods and impenetrable morasses
tenanted by fierce beasts, and exposed to starvation ! What anxiety experienced
by the parents and what sympathy bestowed by neighbors !

In 1837 a child of Mr. Stanley became lost in the woods and created an ex-
citement not soon forgotten. The incident is thus related : one evening Mr.
Stanley, hearing the tinkle of the cow-bell a short distance from the house, started
his son, a child of six years, into the woods to drive the cows home. The cows
soon came in, but the boy was not with them, and repeated calls brought no reply.
Immediate search was instituted and fruitlessly maintained for three days. The
neighbors, turning out, scoured the country for an area of ten miles. The child
was found at last, distant from home but a short half-mile. He sat at the foot of
a tree with his back leaning against it, and was dead. He had perished from cold
and hunger. The Rev. Mr. Hobert officiated at his funeral, at which were held
the first religious services in the town.

In 1836, Abram Hadden, a brother of Amos, took up his residence in the
vicinity, and, simultaneously, several of his old neighbors from New York settled
in Clarence, Sheridan, and Marengo, thereby forming what has since been known
as the "Rice Creek Settlement." Benjamin Thomas, a settler of 1836, in Ma-
rengo, from Sardinia, Erie county, New York, removed in 1839 to a farm situated
in the central northern part of the township. A dense growth of timber covered
the land, to reach which it was necessary to clear a road with the axe. A lo°' house
was built, and sufficient land cleared to get in a corn crop during the next season.
During the fall of 1840 Thomas was away assisting some settlers at their harvest-
ing ; his wife, fearing to remain alone, went to a neighbor's two miles away to
remain till his return. While there the fire went out, and to obtain a light they
started for a house four miles distant. Their light was carried back in a lantern
along a route indicated by marked trees. A day was occupied in making the journey.
The house had no door, and by night wolves gathering from the forest kept up a
continual howling ; at times they ventured near the entrance, from which they were
barred by dread of a good fire well maintained.

It is related by Mrs. Thomas that on one occasion, her husband being away, his
father, an old man, and herself were the sole occupants of the house. A loud
outcry was heard among the hogs in the pen, and on going to ascertain the cause
a large bear was found in the pen trying to lift out a hog. Bruin paid no heed
to her demonstrations, but when the old gentleman appeared with an axe in hand
retreated to the woods. The hog was so badly injured that it soon died. Mr.
and Mrs. Thomas still reside on the old place, grown dear by association and
changed by the progress of time. B. S. Ward settled near the Eaton line, in the
northern part of the town, and lives there at this time. In 1840, D. P. Wood
for one or two years a resident of Albion, desirous to improve his condition, set
out for Clarence, and made his way around Duck lake into Lee. He settled
about a mile from Thomas, on the same road. Not having money to pay for his
forty acres, he found work by the day, and so acquired possession. A cow was
bought by the same means. A log hut was built, and, unchinked, occupied till
fall. It was his home for two years. In August, 1840, some land cleared was in
crop, when Mr. Wood was married to Maria Payne, of Jackson county. Joseph
Gardinier hauled his goods to the marsh edge, and Wood drew them across upon

113

114

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

an ox-sled. These were the preliminary movements to the acquisition of one of
the best farms in the township, — a present valuable and comfortable home.

Among those of other early settlers we find the names of Stephen Aldrich, F.
Garfield, John Weaver, T. S. Havens, Charles R. Thomas, and Jesse Ackley.
Early in 1836 Sidney S. Alcott located the major portion of sections 6 and 7.
During the year following he built a saw-mill on a branch of Indian creek,

a small stream running through the northwest part of the township. The

mill was operated for several years by F. Garfield, but being burned was never
replaced. It was the only water-power saw-mill built in the township. Illustrative
of Lee's natural attractions and condition on April 5, 1836, it is related that Colonel
Charles Dickey, in company with S. S. Alcott and others, started into Lee to look
out land. In attempting to cross a morass the colonel got in up to his neck.
There was not a settler in the northern part of the town, and the explorer was
obliged to wear his wet clothing throughout the day. The party having left their
horses in the woods near the creek, experienced considerable difficulty in finding
them when ready to return. Late at night Lane's tavern was reached, and a
supper made upon dried beef and shortcake baked before the fire. Colonel
Dickey pronounces it the most palatable supper he has ever enjoyed.

As a result of this expedition the colonel located six lots on section 5, two on
section 4, and one each on sections 8 and 9. These lots were entered in the names
of different parties. A stock company was formed in 1844 by G. W. Dryer and
others, and known as the " Dover Company." They purchased a large body of
land in the vicinity of what is now called Partello Post-Office, and began the
e:ection of a mill, which they failed to complete. The frame having stood for
years finally fell through decay. In time the property was purchased by J. R.
Partello and a saw-mill erected. The mill was destroyed by fire within a year or
two, and, another succeeding having burned, none other has been built. At this
point quite a hamlet sprung up. Here are some eight or ten dwellings, a store
kept by Charles Osborn, the present town clerk ; a shoe-shop, in which is kept the
post-office, and a small cider-mill, owned by D. W. Murray and erected in 1872.
It was run by horse-power. In 1876 the mill was supplied by a run of stone,
and a steam-engine superseded the horse-power. The capacity is equal to the
requirements of the neighborhood.

In 1856 a mill was erected by Messrs. Fisher & Bean, at Lee Centre. It
was scarcely completed when Mr. Greenough, purchasing a large interest, took
charge of the business, — sawing and stave-making. The structure, burned in
1862, was rebuilt as a stave-mill by L. B. Fisher and J. S. Scarlett. It is now
owned and run by Martin Dedrick. Anticipating a village, a store and a number
of dwellings were built contemporary with the first mill ; these buildings, save
those removed, are falling into decay through disuse. The store building is utilized
as a town-house for the transaction of public business.

Settlement here is a question of time ; it was premature, but will be permanent.
Lar^e deposits of iron ore exist in the vicinity, but so far no movement towards
minino- has been made. Its presence has been ascertained on sections 4, 5, 9, 10,
and 12,— lands belonging to 0. W. Miller, D. P. Wood, N. W. Paine, H. B.
Thomas, M. Kelly, and D. 0. Codwise. The time approaches when these deposits
will prove a source of great wealth to the townspeople. Undeveloped resources
will ultimately give this section prominence. In addition to mineral wealth, the
great marsh, comprising nearly one-half of the township, will, when drained, con-
stitute most valuable farm lands. The project of drainage is under consideration,
and when realized, will give Lee as good soil as exists in the country. Small
streams flow through the town ; of these, Big Creek, rising near the centre, flows
to the northeast into Eaton county ; Indian creek crosses the northwest corner.
A southern branch of this stream rises in School lake and Lake of the Woods,
which, together with Pardy lake, are situated in the western part of the town-
ship. All three are amply stocked with excellent fish.

CHRONOLOGY OF EARLY BIRTHS.

Events of to-day, lightly regarded, gain value with the lapse of time. Authenti-
cated statement, timely chronicled, renders honors only to the deserving. The first
white child in Lee was James, son of Nicholas Stanley, born July 31, 1836. The
first female child was Dorcas J. Hadden, daughter of Amos Hadden, born October
4 1838. She now resides in Barry county, and is the wife of M. F. McCormick.

The second birth in the township was of Nathaniel Hadden, August 7, 1836.
Mr. Hadden is a present resident of Sandusky, Ohio. The first birth in the
northern settlement was of Elijah J. Thomas, in May, 1840.

However balmy the air, whatever the fertility of the soil, there is no locality
exempt from death. This was exemplified in Lee by the decease of the child lost
in the woods, and by the violent death of his father, Nicholas Stanley, killed by
the caving well on January 19, 1838. The first grave-yard in Lee was located
about 1837, in the extreme southeast corner of the town. A second was laid out

in 1845. in the northern part of the town, and the first person there buried was

named Ezra Pierce.

EDUCATIONAL.

The people of Lee have not been dilatory regarding the establishment and sup-
port of schools. The first school building was erected in 1839, on land owned by
Amos Hadden, and situated in the southeast corner of the township. The walls
were composed of hewn logs, and the interior was destitute of the apparatus
known to the houses of to-day. Into this pioneer structure Miss Elizabeth Farrer,
now living in Marshall, was introduced as teacher, and there was a school in Lee.
The first school in the northern settlement was opened in 1845, by Sophia Stowell,.
later the wife of Henry Crittenden, of Albion. The old log building used stood
near the centre of the township. The area of Lee is apportioned into seven dis-
tricts, which maintain a corresponding number of schools.

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.

Methodism, early planted, has shown healthful and vigorous growth. In 1841-42
Amos Hadden and wife, B. H. Carrier and wife, Silas Wood and wife, C. Han-
chett and wife, D. H. Miller and wife, and Abram Hadden and wife, residents of
Marengo, Sheridan, Clarence, and Lee, united to form a society, and, choosing
Silas Wood for class-leader, erected a church edifice in the northeast part of
Marengo.

A Sabbath-school was organized in 1845, by Albertus Green, in a school-house
located on the land of J. Wetmore, in section 9. The school was maintained and
well attended for a number of years.

A Methodist Episcopal society was formed in 1847, in the school-house at Lee
Centre. It numbered six persons, viz., Mrs. Luff, Henry Harris, D. P. Wood
and wife, and Leander Curtis and wife. The last named was class-leader, and H.
Harris was their first preacher. The society numbers twenty members, and, under
the management of the pastor, Rev. A. M. Finch, much interest is manifest. The
school above noted is connected with this society.

Partello Methodist society was organized by Rev. Nichols during April, 1875,
with A. L. Gipson, Charles Osburn, Charles Miller, and their wives, as members.
Services are held by the pastor, Rev. Miller, in the school-house at Partello Post-
Office. The society is prosperous, and maintains a Sabbath-school during the
summer season.

A society entitled " Church of the Living God" was formed by Elder Rhodes,
and numbers forty members. Services are held in the school-house on section 16.
An essential to their belief is the efficacy of faith and prayer to cure the sick
without assistance from physicians.

A society of United Brethren exists in the eastern part of the township.
Meetings are held in the school-house on section 10. Their discipline excludes
from membership all persons belonging to secret societies.

TOWN-MEETINGS.

The first annual town-meeting of the township was held on Monday, April 6,
1840, at the house of F. Garfield. F. Garfield was chosen moderator, and Sidney
S. Alcott clerk for the day. The following-named officers were then duly elected
Supervisor, John Weaver; Town Clerk, F. Garfield; Treasurer, Jesse Ackley
Collector, Benj. Thomas ; Assessors, F. Garfield, Amos Hadden, Stephen Aldrich
Justices, F. Garfield, T. S. S. Holmes, Amos Hadden, Chas. R. Thomas ; Over-
seers of Highways, Amos Hadden, Chas. Thomas, F. Garfield, J. Ackley ; Com-
missioners of Highways, Amos Hadden, J. Ackley, Oliver Thomas ; School In-
spectors, Amos Hadden, Stephen Aldrich, Benj. Thomas; Poor-masters, John
Ackley, Wm. Garfield ; Constables, John Clough, E. Aldrich.

The whole number of votes cast was twelve. The largest number at a town
election, two hundred and ten ; at general election, two hundred and seventy-two.

SUPERVISORS OF LEE.

The following-named gentlemen have held the office of supervisor and town
clerk :

Supervisors.— 1840, John Weaver; 1841-42, Benj. Thomas; 1843-48, Andrew
Sneider; 1848, Benj. Thomas; 1849, R. B. Wood ; 1850, R. Balcom ; 1851-54,
D. P. Wood; 1854-59, Daniel Tabor; 1859, A. S. Ford; 1860-65, D. Tabor;
1865, D. P. Wood; 1866-69, D. W. Murry; 1869, H. M. Thomas; 1870, D.
S. Tabor; 1871, L. C. Handy ; 1872-73, H. M. Thomas ; 1874, Henry A. Clute ;
1875, D. W. Murry; 1876, David Bennett; 1877, H. A. Clute.

Town Clerics. — 1840-44, Frederick Garfield; 1844, Barney Brannagan ; 1845,
F. Garfield ; 1846-47, B. Brannagan ; 1848, F. Garfield ; 1849-50, D. P. Wood ;
1851-54, M. Woodmanson ; 1854, Benj. Thomas ; 1855, M. Woodmanson ; 1856-
59, D. P. Wood; 1859, A. C. Jewell; 1860-61, Benj. Thomas; 1862, William
Duryee; 1863, J. T. Scarlett; 1864, C. B. Wood; 1865, J.T.Scarlett; 1866-
77, Chas. Osburn.

-■i«

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

115

PRESENT OFFICERS, 1877.

Supervisor, H. A. Clute ; Clerk, C. Osburn ; Treasurer, S. H. Jewett ; School
Inspector, A. C. Jewett ; Highway Commissioner, C. H. Short ; Justice, D. P.
Wood ; Constables, Richard E. Smith, Gilbert Cooley, Emery Thomas, Geo. Win-
negar. R. A. Johnson has been justice of the peace for eighteen years, the
longest time the office has been held by any one person in the township.

Population of Lee.— Males, 612; females, 503; total, 1115.

Live- Stock. — Horses, 357; work oxen, 5*3; milch cows, 330 ; neat cattle, other
than work oxen and cows, 426 ; swine, six months old, 568 ; sheep, six months
old, 2373 ; sheep sheared 1873, 2820 ; mules, 10.

Wheat on the ground May, 1874, 1850 acres; wheat harvested 1873, 1503
acres ; corn harvested 1873, 746 acres ; wheat raised 1873, 22,443 bushels ; corn
raised 1873, 41,428 bushels; other grain 1873, 13,680 bushels; potatoes raise;
1873, 6834 bushels ; hay cut 1873, 1239 tons ; wool sheared 1873, 9165 poundsd
pork marketed, 31,404 pounds ; cheese made 1873, 50 pounds ; butter made 1873,
35,690 pounds; fruit dried 1873, 4528 pounds; cider made 1873, 352 barrels;
maple-sugar 1873, 340 pounds ; orchards, 306 acres ; apples raised 1873, 10,003
bushels; peaches raised 1873, 3 bushels; pears raised 1873, 51 bushels; cherries
raised 1873, 146 bushels; grapes raised 1873, 14 hundredweight; garden veget-
ables, 450 bushels.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

AMOS HADDEN.

A leading man in the Rice Creek settlement, so called, was and is Amos Had-
den, the subject of our sketch. He settled therein, in what is now known as
Lee township, on the 31st day of October, 1835, with his wife and one boy,
Smith Hadden, locating on section 36, township 1 south, range 5 west, purchas-
ing one hundred and twenty acres, and adding subsequently thereto, until his pres-
ent farm contains two hundred acres. His nearest neighbor then was four miles
distant. His farm was situated in the midst of heavy oak openings, which he has
cleared off and built him a snug comfortable home, and commodious barns for
his stock and grain, a view of which improvements we present on another page.
Mr. Hadden was born in Windham, Schoharie county, New York, February 9,
1810. His parents, Smith and Susanna (Townsend) Hadden, were natives of
the same State, and Amos was one of ten children who lived to maturity. The
family resided in Windham for six years after the birth of Amos, and then
removed to Mentz, Cayuga county, New York, where they remained for twelve
years, removing thence to Oswego for eight years, and from thence to Michigan ;
Amos remaining the whole period with his father, engaged in farming. On the
30th of September, 1830, Mr. Hadden was married to Mary J., daughter of
Lawrence and Mary (Waldo) Dutcher, natives of New York. She was born in
Washington township, Dutchess county, New York, November 5, 1811. The
fruits of this union were the following-named children : Smith, now of Olivet,
Eaton county, Michigan ; Jerome, now deceased ; Nathaniel A., of Sandusky,
Ohio ; Dareas J., now deceased ; Newton D., who died of typhoid fever in the war
for the Union, while a corporal of Company F, Ninth Michigan Infantry, at
Elizabethtown, Kentucky, February 8, 1862; and Leonora L., now Mrs. M. F.
McCormick, of Nashville, Barry county. In politics Mr. Hadden is a Repub-
lican, and was a member of the Whig party formerly, but cast his first vote for
General Jackson. He has been a member of the Methodist church for half a

century, and his excellent helpmeet but four years less. He contributed largely
to the building of the Methodist *. uurch in the Rice Creek settlement. He has
held the office of justice of the peace for four years, and other township offices.

TRUMAN PLINY WALKER,

the subject of the present sketch, was born in Huron township, Lorain county,
Ohio, February 3, 1830. His father, Truman Walker, was a native of Vermont,
and his mother, Anna (Carpenter) Walker, was born in Massachusetts. The lad
lived at home with his parents until he attained his majority, attending the com-
mon schools of the country and assisting on the farm. When he was twenty-one
years of age he removed to Michigan and bought a farm of one hundred and
sixty acres in Lee township, to which he brought his father and mother, and duti-
fully cared for them till their decease. His farm was wild and unbroken when he
bought it, but by his industry and good management he has brought it up to one
of the many good farms of the county.

On the 16th December, 1856, Mr. Walker was united in marriage to Caroline
Smith, who was born June 15, 1839, and whose parents, Frederick I. and Parnell
(Joyce) Smith, natives of the eastern States, removed to Ohio and from thence
to Lee. The father is living in Illinois with his oldest daughter. Three sons
have blessed Mr. Walker's marriage, — Artemas, James H., and John F. Mrs.
Walker died December 1, 1864, and Mr. Walker has never re-married, but keeps
his first faith unbroken. She was a faithful wife and able and efficient helpmeet.

In politics, Mr. Walker is a Democrat. We present our readers with a view
of Mr. Walker's fine residence and portraits of himself and wife on another page
of our work.

ATHENS TOWNSHIP.

The township of Athens is located in the southwestern extremity of the county,
and is geographically designated as town 4 south, of range 8 west. About one-
sixth of its area is fine prairie land, about ten sections of heavily-timbered land,
and the balance oak openings. The principal streams are the Nottawa-seepe and
Pine creeks, which unite in section 29, and form a large tributary to the St. Joseph
river, which they enter in Kalamazoo county, a few miles below. On the south
side of the Nottawa, and touching its banks, is the prairie, and on the opposite
side was one of the finest tracts of timbered land in the county, consisting of
whitewood, black cherry, and black walnut, besides an abundance of oak and
other domestic timber.

Much of genuine historic importance and interest clusters around old Athens,
for it was within its boundaries that some of the earliest settlements in the county
were made. The first name for the township was Berlin, and was suggested by
Alfred Holcomb ; but, on finding that there already existed in the State a town
or township by that name, Athens was substituted. It originally included the
present congressional townships of Athens, Le Roy, and Burlington, but was con-
stitutionally formed as at present by the subsequent organization of Le Roy, in
1837, and of Burlington the same year.

On the 3d of June, 1831, a party composed of seven hardy pioneers, namely,
Warren Nichols, and Ambrose and Othorial, his brothers, Benjamin F. Ferris,
Alfred Holcomb, Isaac Crossett, Asahel Stone, and a Mr. Brown,— to the latter of
whom is accredited the honor of discovering the prairie, — came into the township.
The prairie was not laid down on the surveyor's map, and the party, supposing it
to be situated in the St. Joseph valley, of which they had heard marvelous stories,
went too far west. Mr. Brown, who was a genuine son of old Vermont, left the
party at Ypsilanti and proceeded alone on a tour of discovery, taking the northern
trail, and struck the prairie, and reported his good fortune to the rest of the party
at Prairie Ronde. They started and came through the same day, and located their
claims the day following, taking nearly the whole of what is now called " Dry
prairie," in Athens township.

Mr. Holcomb relates an incident illustrative of the noble red man's fondness
for glittering show. When he came in he had a stove belonging to Mr. Nichols
on his wagon, and when they came through the Indian village warriors, squaws,
and pappooses piled upon the vehicle to examine the tinware on the stove, which
they supposed was silver. After satisfying their curiosity they alighted and went
their way with mingled feelings of cupidity and surprise. When their hunters
returned in the evening they related what they had seen, giving a description,
doubtless, that would have excelled the most flowery story in the ''Arabian
Nights.'' The next day, while the Holcomb family were enjoying their frugal
midday meal, lo ! some score of braves, war-paint, tomahawks, and all, came
riding along, in single file, on their ponies. The first thought that presented itself
; to the family was that they were trespassing on the Indians' hunting-ground,
and momentarily expected to be ousted, minus their scalps. But their fears were
happily unfounded, for the savages only came to procure ocular demonstration of
what they had heard concerning the stove and its adjunct utensils. After a care-
ful inspection and much wonderment they departed. The next day they came
again, and brought with them a fine quarter of venison, as a token of their friend-
ship and good-will.

Warren Nichols was the first one to complete his house, which was a hewn log
structure of rather pretentious proportions for those days, although the dwellings
of the others, except Mr. Brown, were contemporaneous with it. This was in the
fall of 1831, and all went well with the little band of pioneers for a brief period,

. a very brief period indeed. Then a visitation came upon them that in its

melancholy nature was sufficient to appal the stoutest heart, and to cause the
strongest mind to stand in awe.

It was in the summer of 1832, at the close of a series of sultry days, that the
little settlement was thrown into a state of the profoundest consternation by the
sad intelligence that a young daughter of Warren Nichols was down with the
cholera. This feeling of dread was intensified by the reports that had reached
the little party from the east, where the fell disease had made its fearful ravages.
Within a brief period from its first appearance six persons had succumbed, and
the tranquillity of the settlement was disturbed by death, and the painful task of
burying their dead became their sorrowful duty. The awful visitation was the
116

more keenly felt in the absence of that medical aid x so requisite in such cases.
The only doctor who visited the scene of the contagion was a Mr. White, a stu-
dent of Dr. Brown, of Prairie Ronde. In speaking of him, Mrs. Ferris, widow
of Benjamin F. Ferris, who was present through the whole duration of the dis-
ease, says, " He was so scared that he did not dare stay in the house only just
long enough to deal out their medicine, which consisted of calomel and laudanum,
administered in small doses. Then he came down to our house and stayed all
night, dealt out medicine for himself, and gave us directions that if we heard
him make any fuss in the night to get right up and give it to him."

The victims of the malady were Warren Nichols and wife, and three children,
—Margaret, Philena, and Phoebe,— and Isaac Crossett. The Nichols family
were interred on the farm now the property of A. C. Waterman, in the village of
Athens ; and Mr. Crossett was buried by Messrs. Alfred Holcomb and Ben-
jamin F. Ferris, on the place now owned by the widow of the latter, also within
the limits of the village.

In speaking of these times, Mr. Holcomb says, "The first prayer-meeting held
in Athens was during the cholera period, at our house. Those present were Ben-
jamin F. Ferris and wife, myself and wife, and Lot Whitcomb, nearly all the well
persons in town. All knelt down, and Lot Whitcomb offered a fervent, heartfelt
prayer, and one can imagine far better than I can describe the need each of that
little band felt for the comfort and consolation of prayer. After the prayer-meet-
ing was over we agreed that those who survived the night should go around in
the morning and visit those who were sick."

The children of Mr. Nichols who survived the cholera married as follows:
Mary, the eldest, married Robert McCamly; Lydia married Milton McCamly,
then of Burlington township, and subsequently of Battle Creek ; Jonathan mar-
ried Jane Watkins; Albert, Belinda Lee; and Mercy, the youngest, married Solo-
mon Hicks, of Pennfield township.

The family of Isaac Crossett removed to Nottawa township, St. Joseph county,
soon after his demise, where his widow married Mr. Amos Howe, of that place.
One of the sons edited a paper in Three Rivers, and another is a lumber-merchant
in Grand Rapids. The only living representative of the Nichols family is Am-
brose Nichols, who resides in Leonidas, St. Joseph county; and of the band of
pioneers who first settled Athens only two remain on the scene of their early
toil and care, and those are Alfred Holcomb (who resides on the farm where he
first settled) and the widow of Benjamin F. Ferris, who is his next-door neighbor
in Athens village.*

Mr. Holcomb relates how these pioneers came from their eastern homes, or at
least how he and Mr. Ferris came : They left Naples, Ontario county, New York,
in the early part of May, 1831, and traveled to Buffalo by stage. Here they
intended to take a boat to Detroit, but the ice had not all gone out of the foot of
the lake, so that they found it necessary to go to Dunkirk, a distance of thirty
miles, in order to embark. This distance they walked, and then took passage on
the old " Superior," the second steamboat that ever plowed the waters of Lake Erie,
of which Captain Pease was the commander. On arriving at Detroit they each
purchased a yoke of oxen, Mr. Holcomb getting the largest animals, for which he
paid sixty dollars, and Mr. Ferris for his forty-five dollars. Mr. Holcomb had a
wife and two children, and Mr. Ferris a wife and one child. They also purchased
a o-ood substantial wagon apiece, and started out of Detroit with buoyant hopes
of the future. On the road they passed a place where a man had squatted and
had planted about a quarter of an acre of cabbages. At nightfall they were some
twenty miles from the place ; but, on retiring for the night, the oxen went on a
foraging expedition, evidently remembering the cabbage which they had passed
some ten hours previously, for they made directly for the patch ; and when the
owner arose in the morning, refreshed by the night's slumbers, and perchance the
pleasant dreams of the barrels of " sour-krout" he intended to store up for the
ensuing winter, lo and behold ! on going to the field not a cabbage remained. He
soon found out who had despoiled his garden, and straightway went to the owners
of the oxen, and finally compromised the affair for five dollars.

Hiram Doubleday, from Italy, Yates county, New York, was among the early

* Alfred Holcomb died on his original location, Sunday, May 27, 1877, at the advanced age
of seventy-seven years.

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

IK

settlers, coming in about 1833. Peter Beisel arrived about the same time, from
Pennsylvania.

A Mr. Stoddard was in the township at an early day, as a land speculator only,
and never effected a permanent residence.

Lot Whitcomb came in 1832, from Vermont, and was a rare specimen of a
genuine Yankee. He, in company with Peter Beisel, built the

FIRST SAW-MILL,

in 1835. Mr. Beisel subsequently rented his farm to Mrs. Crownover and her
sons, and removed to White Pigeon, where he died. His sons, George and Peter,
were for many years among the prominent business men of that place. Lot
"Whitcomb removed from Athens many years ago to Kane county, Illinois, and
finally took up his residence in Oregon, where he accumulated a fortune estimated
at three millions of dollars. He died there about eight years since.

Asahel Stone, although spending much of his time here after 1831, did not
bring his family in until 1835. In the spring of 1837 Francis A. Mann arrived,
and these two became the leaders of their respective political parties, and ran
things to suit themselves until 1844, when the Whigs bolted them, and elected
Captain James Winters supervisor. From this period until the regular organiza-
tion of the Republican party Whigs and Democrats were the partisan attributes,
but the Republican party now enjoys a good majority in the township. Messrs.
Stone and Mann made good, reliable officers, but had strong partisan prejudices.
Mr. Stone accumulated a fair competence, and at his death, which occurred De-
cember 22, 1852, devised his property very judiciously, dividing it between his
wife and three daughters, no son having been borne to them. Ann, the eldest,
married Alfred Holcomb, and now resides in the village, an estimable and much
respected lady. Sabria, the second, married B. F. Ferris, and, being widowed,
resides next door to her sister ; and Laura married Norton P. Hobart, and resides
in Athens village.

On the return of Mr. Stone, in 1835, Norton P. Hobart and Malin W., his
brother, accompanied him, but did not permanently locate until the year follow-
in^. At this time Malin W. was only seventeen years of age. Nicholas Van-
brunt came in about this time, and with him his wife and a large family of
children. He will be remembered by many who knew Athens in its earlier days.
Also Andrew Robyler, who kept a sort of tavern in the township, a very primi-
tive affair. He was a horse-jockey and farmer combined, but ill adapted to
assume the role of "mine host." He opened his hostelry about 1836, being pre-
ceded in the business by a man named Farmer, who kept the

FIRST TAVERN

that could be considered as a house of regular entertainment, in the village of
Branchville, early in 1836, which village formerly existed about one mile east of
Athens.

Salmon Walker came in 1836, and settled on section 14, and Wm. R. Walker,
his half-brother, on section 11 the same year. Among the prominent settlers who
arrived between 1836 and 1845 were Captain James Winters, who settled on
section 5, in 1836 ; Erastus B. Woodworth and Hiram Tuttle, who came in 1838 ;
Deacon S. J. Bundle, on section 5, in 1841 ; Lemuel Davis, on section 8, same
year ; S. J. Vickory, on section 7, same year ; Homer C. Hurd, Alfred Weeks,
Joel P. Mann, Ashbel Stiles, John B. Drake, Bussell Alvord, John B. Rogers,
John Moore, and several others within the period designated.

THE FIRST FRAME BUILDINGS

erected were the barns of H. Doubleday, B. F. Ferris, and A. Holcomb, built in
1834. Mr. Doubleday roofed his with black walnut, and it stands, after the lapse
of forty years, a venerable landmark of "ye olden time."

THE FIRST WHEAT

was sown during the summer of 1834, by the same persons last mentioned. They
got their seed near Centreville, and it turned out wonderfully smutty. They
sowed in all about twenty -four ^cres, about one-third of which turned out a fine
quality of — smut.

THE FIRST ORCHARD

was planted by Alfred Holcomb, in the spring of 1835. He purchased his trees
at Mishawaka, Indiana. They did not turn out successfully, owing to the depre-
dations of a species of large ant that existed here in an early day. The first
apples were raised by Asahel Stone, and the first peaches, five in number, by
A. Holcomb.

THE FIRST SEED DRILL

was introduced about this time, by Mr. Holcomb. He got it from Brockport,
New York, and his wife thought it " a piece of needless extravagance."

THE FIRST ROAD

surveyed was that known as the " David Coddington road," which was surveyed
by Michael Keith, assisted by A. Holcomb and Asahel Stone, June 16, 1835.
We quote the annexed minutes from the records in the township, on file in the
clerk's office :

" 1st course, south 150 chains ; 2d course, south 30°, west 31 chains and 3
links ; south 62°, west 81 chains 4 links ; south 30°, west 50 chains and 5 links,
south 46°, west 66 links; south 28 chains 7 links; south 25°, east 50 chains 3
links; south 75°, west 115 chains 8 links; west 10 chains 9 links; south 80°,
west 52 chains to the section line of section 27, the whole length being seven
miles and eleven chains." Signed by B. F. Ferris, Ansel Adams, O. W. Nichols,
Commissioners of Highways.

THE FIRST BRIDGE

across the Nottawa-seepe, on the road from Athens to Battle Creek, near the
present village of Athens, was built by Lemuel Davis, at a cost of six thousand
eight hundred dollars, about 1845. It stood for about twenty years, when it was
replaced by the present structure.

THE FIRST POST-OFFICE

in the town was kept by Lot Whitcomb, who had formerly been postmaster in
Sherwood township, Branch county, and on his removal to Athens in 1836 he
took the post-office with him. After keeping the ofiice for a few years, it was
discontinued. Postage on letters at that time was twenty-five cents, paid on, or
generally speaking before, delivery.

THE PINE CREEK POST-OFFICE
was established January 1, 1851, by the assistance of George S. Wright, Esq.,
the postmaster at Marshall. The conditions were that no expense should accrue
to the government, and that no route would be opened until the ofiice became
self-supporting. The letters were at first carried in the vest-pocket, once a week,
to Abscota post-office, in Burlington township, a distance of six miles, usually
by the postmaster, who, including the franking privilege and the contributions of
the citizens, received about three shillings a trip. After one year's trial, a route
was established, and the government assumed the expense, Captain James Win-
ters being appointed postmaster. But in the fall of 1852 he was elected repre-
sentative to the State legislature, and, as he could not hold office under the gen-
eral government and a State office of honor or profit, he resigned the post-office in
favor of David N. Willard, who held the same until January 18, 1875, when he
resigned in favor of Captain Winters, who now retains the office, which has a
semi-weekly mail and is doing a respectable business.

CECELIA POST-OFFICE

. was established in 1860, and was first kept by Smoles Wood, at what was long
and popularly known as the " Pine Creek House," in section 2. It was after-
wards removed to the dwelling of John B. Drake, about one-half of a mile north
of its original location, and Mr. Drake was appointed postmaster. Finally,
in 1875, it was abandoned, and an ofiice established at East Le Roy, and Dr.
James Foster appointed postmaster, at whose residence it is now kept. It enjoys
a tri-weekly mail between Athens and Battle Creek, and by rail with all poiuts
east and west.

THE FIRST GRIST-MILL.

Mr. Holcomb thus describes theirs* grist-mill used in the settlement :
" It was made by Isaac Crossett, in the winter of 1831. He took a box-wood
tree four feet long and six inches in diameter, which he scooped out, making a
concavity, and then took a piece of the same tree and manufactured a cylinder,
which he fitted into the cavity. Into the cylinder he inserted a number of pieces
of steel made by breaking up an old cross-cut saw. He also made a pestle, into
which he stuck some similar pieces of steel to those in the cylinder. These
pieces of steel were arranged in auger shape, and the pressure could be regulated
by increasing or decreasing the weight on the tenon. To the tenon he mortised
two poles, and for motive-power he procured the services of four small boys, one
at each end of the poles. To grind one bushel of feed it required one hour ;
for household stuff, about double that length of time. This primitive affair was
christened the < coffee-mill,' but the johnny-cakes that were made of its grists
tasted as good to the laborious pioneer as though they had been made of meal
ground in the improved mills of to-day."

THE FIRST STORE

kept in the township was by a Mr. Underdonk, at the then village of Branchville,
as early as 1838. It was a primitive log building, and was maintained principally
by the Indian trade in trinkets and other comparatively valueless commodities.

118

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

THE FIRST MARRIAGE.

The first couple married in the township were Kobert McCamly and Mary
Nichols, and the person performing the ceremony was Squire Dwinnel, who was
the nearest justice, and he resided near Ceresco. He married them at the house
of Ambrose Nichols, which was located in Sherwood township, Branch county.
When he got home he found that he had exceeded his jurisdiction, and ought
not to have " tied the knot" outside his own county. The happy couple had
also discovered the error, and being endowed with conscientious scruples and a
sense of moral requirements of the case, became alarmed, and the ceremony was
re-performed within the territorial limits assigned by the constitution. Squire
Dwinnell did the job over again, the bright canopy of heaven forming the roof,
and the green sward the carpet of the place where the contract was again re-
newed. This transpired in the winter of 1833.

THE FIRST FEMALE BIRTH
was that of Mary, daughter of Lot Whitcomb, in 1832.

THE FIRST MALE BIRTH

was that of Alfred, son of Ambrose Nichols, who was born in the winter of 1832.

THE FIRST DEATH

was that of Margaret Nichols, one of the cholera victims in the summer of 1832.
The other five victims followed within a few days.

THE FIRST BURYING-GROUND

was laid off near the village of Branchville in 1837. It was on a lot donated by
Peter Beisel, in section 27. The first interment was that of Jacob Beisel, son of
the donor, who died the same year.

THE FIRST SCHOOL

taught in the township was by a Miss Acres, from Penn Yan, New York, in a
small log school-house located on section 34, in 1833. Asaph Holcomb, Har-
vey Doubleday (of Sherwood), and Harriet Doubleday (now Mrs. D. D. Riley,
of Union City), are among the early pupils yet surviving.

THE FIRST SCHOOL-HOUSE

proper was erected in 1838, and was a frame building octagonal in shape. It
stood near the residence of Asahel Stone, and was known as the " Stone school-
house." At the organization of the school districts it was made district No. 2.
We quote from the records as follows :

" First meeting of the school inspectors of district No. 2 was held at the house
of Alfred Holcomb, December 21, 1837, and the district was organized same day
and date.

"Asahel Stone, moderator; Joseph Holcomb, director ; N. P. Hobart, assessor.
Asahel Stone donated the building lot.

" Voted, that the house shall be built eight-square, with a portico in front, and
to have two fire-places in the middle of said house.

" Voted, the said house be twenty-two feet in diameter, with eight-feet posts,
also seven twelve-light windows, eight by twelve glass, and four lights above the
door.

" Voted, that the contract for building said school-house be let to the lowest
bidder, and that it be finished by the 1st of October next."

The contract was let to Alfred Holcomb, and the amount of the same was
three hundred dollars.

THE FIRST PHYSICIAN

who practiced in the township was Ashton Wallace, who commenced practicing
as early as 1835. He continued to attend to the wants of his patients for almost
twenty years, and died in 1857.

THE FIRST BLACKSMITH

was S. Shaw, who erected a small shop on section 34 in the year 1834.

THE FIRST CARPENTER

was John Wilson, who established himself in the then village of Branchville
about the year 1834.

THE FIRST COOPERS

were Charles and Thomas Hubbard, brothers, who settled in the southern part of
the township about 1837. One of them removed to Union City, in the adjoin-
ing county, where his family still reside.

THE FIRST THRASHING-MACHINE
was brought into the township by Captain James Winters, in 1840. It was an
open cylinder, and it was quite a laborious task, as well as a very disagreeable
and dangerous one, to work around it.

THE FIRST REAPER

was brought in by Russell Alvord, in 1840, and the first mower by A. C.
Waterman, in 1851.

FIRST TOWNSHIP MEETING.

The first township meeting convened at the house of Lot Whitcomb, on the
6th of April, 1835, to which Hiram Doubleday was chosen moderator and Benja-
min F. Ferris clerk, and duly qualified according to law.

It was voted by the majority of electors, "that all persons residents of said
township be lawful voters."

The first election, held on the date and at the place above designated, resulted as
follows :

Henry C. Hurd was elected supervisor, by a majority of five.

Benjamin F. Ferris, township clerk, by a majority of seven.

George Clark, Granville Beardsley, and William Adams, assessors, by a ma-
jority of eight.

Franklin C. Watkins, collector, by a majority of three.

Isaac Watkins and Richard Tuck, directors of the poor, by a majority of
fourteen.

0. W. Nichols, Benjamin F. Ferris, and Ansel Adams, commissioners of
highways, by a majority of one.

Horton Warren and F. C. Watkins, constables, by a majority of four.

Alfred Holcomb and Robert McCamly, fence- viewers, by a majority of six.

Isaac Watkins and Joseph Sanders, pound-masters, by a majority of five.

John C. Ferris and David Dexter, overseers of highways ; the former in district
No. 1 , and the latter in district No. 2.

It was then voted " that the legal height of a fence be four feet six inches."
Also, "to hold the next annual meeting at the dwelling-house of Elizur Mc-
Camly."

The supervisors of the township from 1836 to 1876 inclusive have been —

Homer C. Hurd, Asahel Stone (five years), Ashbel Stiles, Francis A. Mann
(two years), Hiram Tuttle, James Winters (three years), Norton P. Hobart,
Alfred Weeks, Russell Atwood, Malin W. Hobart, Erastus B. Woodworth, R. P.
Libhart (two years), David Kyes, N. F. Randolph (two years), Edward J. Un-
derwood, Jehial Wisner, present incumbent, from 1861 to 1877, sixteen consecu-
tive years.

The list of township clerks includes the subjoined names :

Otis C. Freeman (1836), Solomon Sayles (two years), Charles W. Pomeroy,
Harrison Wallace (two years), Joel P. Mann, Erastus R. Woodworth (five years),
Jared T. Walker, Alfred Weeks (two years), George W. Kidder (ten years),
Elihu B. Skidmore, H. B. Waterman, Spencer T. Barber, Asa Alford, H. B.
Waterman, William Simons, William H. Selkrig (two years), Edgar Doty (five
years), Thomas H. Cave, present incumbent (three years).

Those having held and holding the office of justice of the peace in the town-
ship are —

H, C. Hurd, 0. C. Freeman, Sylvanus Read, Ephraim Turner (1837-45),
Asahel Stone, James Esmund, Solomon Sayles, Charles W. Pomeroy, Hiram
Tuttle, S. J. Arundel (four years), Erastus B. Woodworth (six years), Francis
A. Mann (eight years), John L. Hopkins, Hiram Tuttle (four years), Russell
Atwood (fourteen years), James Winters (twelve years), Jonathan Guernsey,
Nelson Barber, Ashbel Styles, Cornelius Cuyler (six years), Geo. W. Hampton,
Jehial Wisner (1865-77), James F. Putnam (eight years), David Kyes (seven-
teen years), Southmayd Rogers (six years), George F. Hart, Harvey M. Graham,
R. P. Libhart, Malin H. Hobart, Lyman B. Smith, George Ferris, Alpheus
Wiser, Lyman B. Smith, Henry L. Carpenter, Willard L. Fuller, Ira E. Hitch-
cock, M. W. Hobart.

THE " NOBLE RED MAN."

Prior to 1840, a large number of Indians lived on a reservation which was
located in the central part of Athens township ; in that year they were taken
* together with the rest of their race in Michigan, beyond the Mississippi. When
the soldiers came to conduct them to their new home they were seized with terror,
and many of them eluded the vigilance of their custodians and escaped to Canada.
This was a sorrowful episode in the existence of these poor creatures, and they
appealed to their white neighbors, with whom they had long lived amicably, for
protection. Six families escaped from the troops, on the prairies of Illinois, and
came back to their old home, after an absence of six weeks, making many mani-
festations of joy at meeting again their white friends. The government owed this
band about three thousand dollars, which was secured for them.

JOHN B. ROGERS.

Athens Tp.

JtfRS.JOHN B.ROGERS.

Athens Tp

Wm. holmes.

Athens Tp

Geo. Kellogg

Athens Tp.

HON. N. P. HOBART.

Athens tp.

£5$^

Jehiel Wisner.

Athens Tp

ftlRS.D. N.V/ILLARD.

Athens Tp.

0. N.WU.LARD.

Athens Tp.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

119

In 1844, Morton P. Hobart, Isaac L. Acker, and Benjamin F. Ferris were
appointed commissioners to purchase lands and build houses for them, and to
otherwise look after their interests. Accordingly, they purchased one hundred
and forty acres of land, built them six log houses, a barn, and a school-house, the
object being to civilize and Christianize them. After the completion of this ar-
rangement the conference of the Methodist church undertook the matter, and
Rev. M. Hickey, who is now a presiding elder, came among them as a missionary.
His sister also came and taught their school. After this effort a Mr. Wilson, a
devoted man, came and lived among them about a year, to instruct them in the
art of husbandry. But this wonderful change from the bark wigwam to a com-
fortable log house was more than the roving, free and easy nature of the Indians
could endure, and in the space of about three years nearly half the number had
died with consumption. There are several families remaining, each sharing the
annuity from the government. They pay some slight attention to agricultural
matters, growing a little corn, and otherwise utilizing their possessions enough to
partially sustain them. The men make good hands in the hay- and harvest-fields ;
while the women are very skillful at making baskets and articles of virtu, which
they dispose of. In the fruit season they pick berries, and carry them to market.

Thus have the days of their glory departed, and the hand of oblivion is stretched
forth to close forever the gates that lead to the memory of their existence. Where
once stood the council-house, in which the assembled nations and tribes met to
send forth the joy of feast, to smoke the pipe of peace, or to sing the song of
war, now stands the home of the farmer; and where arose the lofty mound, in
which, perchance, reposed the ashes of the great sachem or the savage monarch,
are the fertile fields of the white settler. In fact, a new race of beings has suc-
ceeded, more enlightened, but perhaps less happy; the scene has changed; a new
state of things has arisen, as if touched with the wand of enchantment. Not
many years since the idol of the heathen fell before the sceptre of the white man —
since the discordant jargon of the Indian pow-wow and the Indian war-song was
succeeded by the dulcet melodies of music and the hum of a busy population.
Thus rolls on the tide of revolution ; thus passeth away one race of beings to
make room for another.

CASUALTIES.
In the fall of 1865 a man by the name of Nichols was buried in a well, on
the premises of the old Pine Creek tavern, and before he could be extricated life
was extinct. He was engaged cleaning out the well at the time of the accident.

SUICIDE.

Matthew Cullin hanged himself to the limb of a tree in a piece of woods
located on section 17. Mental derangement, accelerated by the excessive use of
intoxicating liquors, was the cause assigned for the rash act.

ATHENS VILLAGE.

The present site of the village of Athens is partially included in the original
purchase of Isaac Crossett. Its location has extended somewhat since the first
plat was made in 1865 ; so that now it contains portions of sections 27 and 28,
33 and 34. The commencement of the village properly dates back to 1854,
when

THE FIRST STORE

was erected by William Simons. It was a small frame building, and was stocked
with a miscellaneous assortment of goods similar to those usually found in a gen-
eral country store. Prior to this, however, L. B. Holcomb had established a
trading-place, and opened up a business which was principally' confined to the
Indians.

The progress of the village from 1854 to 1865 — the year the regular survey was
made, and the year when the owners of the land, A. Holcomb & Co. and A. C.
Waterman, put it in the market — was slow. In 1862 the water-power of the Not-
tawa-seepe was first begun to be utilized, and in the fall of this year the first spade
of earth was lifted from the present race. The first manufacturing establishment
erected was the

SASH-, DOOR-, AND BLIND-FACTORY,

commenced in the spring of 1862, and completed ready for work in 1865, by
Steward S. Ware, by whom it has since been operated.

Following this in course of construction, and antedating it in priority of com-
mencement of operations a few weeks, was

THE GRIST-MILL,

a goodly-sized frame building erected by Messrs. A. C. Waterman and James F.
Halbert, in the summer of 1865. It has two run of stone, and is now owned
exclusively by A. C. Waterman, one of the original proprietors. The amount of
work done at the mill during the year 1876 was as follows: custom, twenty
thousand five hundred bushels; merchant, five hundred barrels.

THE FIRST SAW-MILL

was erected by George Taylor, in 1865. It stood until 1869, when it was de-
stroyed by fire. The same year Mr. Taylor, in company with a Mr. McDonnell,
erected a second saw-mill, about forty rods southeast of the original site. After
several changes in proprietorship, it was burned down in 1873. A third mill,
within ten rods of the site of the last-mentioned structure, was built during the
latter year by Messrs. Wilson & Simmons, the latter of whom retired during the
year, and Mr. Wilson has since continued it alone.

THE FOUNDRY, MACHINE, AND AGRICULTURAL WORKS

were established in 1867, by Messrs. S. S. Ware, E. N. Cooper, and George
Chandler. The works changed hands a number of times, and are now operated
by S. H. Wood.

THE FIRST DWELLING-HOUSE

after the village was laid out was built by Malin W. Hobart, in 1865. During
1866 seventeen houses were erected, and in 1867 thirty-three more were added.

THE FIRST HOTEL

was erected by Dr. Wm. H. Delop, in 1868, and was first kept by a man named
Chapman. Edward Fonda afterwards purchased the property, and conducted the
business for about two years. He was succeeded by M. D. Smith, who kept the
house five years, and in 1875 it passed into the hands of its present proprietor,
Henry Brownell. In 1860

THE FIRST POST-OFFICE

was established in the village, and kept by A. C. Waterman. It had been formerly
kept by Mr. Onderdonk, some distance from the village. Frank A. Mann was
also among the early postmasters. The present incumbent is Samuel B. Kulp.

THE FIRST CHURCH EDIFICE
erected was a Union church, erected by members of several religious denomina-
tions in 1869. It is now under the control of the Episcopal Methodists.

THE FIRST PHYSICIAN

who located in the village was J. W. Lee, M.D., who came in 1859. He was of
the regular school of medicine (allopathic).

STATISTICAL AND GENERAL.

The growth of the village during the first decade of its existence was rapid,
and, though retarded by the general financial depression which began in 1873,
yet its progress has been above that of the average village in this portion of the
State. It now contains three dry-goods and two general stores, one hardware-,
one drug-, and two millinery-stores ; one grist- and one saw-mill, one sash-, door-,
and blind-factory, one foundry and machine-shop, four blacksmith-shops, two
carriage- and wagon-shops, two harness-shops, two paint- and three shoe-shops, one
tin-shop, a photograph gallery, two hotels, two livery stables, a church, and a
district school and a post-office. It has " Athens Lodge, No. 200, of Free and
Accepted Masons," and three physicians. Its estimated population is four hun-
dred. The amount of its entire business for the year 1876 was about one hundred
and sixty-five thousand dollars.

Those prominently identified with the mercantile interests of the village since
William Simons are Charming Huxley, John Smith, Amasa Underwood, Asaph
Holcomb, Samuel E. Kulp, William Lewis, Ann Lewis, Kingsbury and Doty,
James and Hiram Watkins, and L. B. Smith.

RELIGIOUS.

The first religious service held in Athens was at the residence of Mr. Alfred
Holcomb, in the winter of 1832, by a missionary by the name of Dickinson, of
the Methodist persuasion. He was sent out from Kentucky, and assigned the
circuit embracing Battle Creek, Athens, Cold Water, Jonesville, Albion, and Mar-
shall. Among those who were present were Mrs. Watkins, widow of Martin
Watkins, now residing in Nebraska, and Mrs. Arnold Howard, deceased, who
used to walk from Leonidas, a distance of ten miles, to attend the early religious
meetings. Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb, Mrs. Ferris, and some few others remain of
the early band of primitive worshipers.

A Methodist class was regularly organized about the year 1850, and a hewn
log frame house of worship erected, about four miles north of Athens village, in
1852. The pastor was Eev. Phineas P. Lee. The house was used as a church
for only a few years, for in 1858 Luther Mason, the genial stage-driver, took up
his residence in the old church edifice, and has ever since been permeated with
deep religious sentiments. The old building yet remains as a monument of the
early struggles of Methodism ; but its dilapidated condition shows that it has long
been in disuse.

120

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

After the discontinuance of worship in the old building, those of the society
remaining concentrated their exertions at Athens, and, assisted by those of other
denominations, erected in 1869 a commodious church edifice, which was dedicated
with impressive ceremonies by the Rev. G. B. Jocelyn, D.D., late president of
Albion college, the same year. The first pastor installed was Rev. L. M. Bennett,
and the first oflicers were Samuel R. Kulp, S. S. Ware, David Kyes, Elmus Al-
vord, Alva Tenney, and Justin Keyes, trustees ; Rev. Phineas P. Lee and Horace
Lee, stewards ; David Kyes, class-leader. The church society under the new
regime got on but slowly, and under the present pastorate a serious conflict with
the church authorities is pending. It appears that the Rev. Martin V. Rork, the
incumbent pastor, has attempted to introduce what he terms "reforms" into the
church, to which the presiding elder of the circuit and others in authority object.
The matter has been called before the conference, and is still under advisement.
It seems that under the preaching of Rev. Rork the society has greatly flour-
ished, and the most successful revival known in the history of the appointment has
been held under his ministrations during the year 1876. The church now num-
bers about one hundred and twenty-five members. There is also a flourishing
Sunday-school connected with the church, which enrolls one hundred and eighty-
six members. The superintendent is Mr. George Stimpson.

THE BAPTIST CHURCH.

In the spring of 1841 Deacon S. J. Rundle came into the north part of Athens,
and in the spring of the following year Captain James Winters came into the same
township with his family, himself, wife, and one daughter being members of the
Baptist church. Soon after, Mrs. D. N. Willards and Mrs. H. Richardson came ;
and John Cullen and family, and a few others, members of the same church, fol-
lowed. Meetings were proposed, and worship was held in the house of D. N.
Willard, participated in by the persons whose names appear above, and E. Chese-
brough. Afterwards the log houses of S. J. Rundle, Charles Dolph, and James
Winters were dedicated to the service of God, by holding prayer-meetings in them
alternately. The nearest Baptist church was at South Battle Creek, to which the
members here united, and were designated as a branch of that church. But as
these members resided ten miles therefrom it afforded but little benefit to them,
and they resolved to form themselves into a church at home ; and on the 23d day
of August, 1848, the Athens church was organized with the following members,
namely : S. J. Rundle, F. M. Rundle* E. Willard, James Winters, T. Winters,
L. M. Winters, J. H. Winters, R. Self, Mary Self, D. Riley, S. Jacobs, J.
McLain, B. McLain, H. Richardson, M. A. Richardson, J. Grodavant, Asa
Wiseon, J. Cullen, C. Cullen, E. Cullen, G. Johnson, P. Johnson, P. Underwood,
C. Underwood, S. A. Underwood, and M. Jacobs.

* Those in italics have since died.

The church was legally organized January 7, 1851, by electing S. J. Rundle,
J. Grodavant, and James Winters trustees. The first pastor was Elder L. L.
Wisner; first clerk, James Winters; and first deacons, S. J. Rundle and
John Cullen. The pastors following Elder Wisner were Revs. J. Gould, H. S.
Knowles, Alpheus Wisner, H. C. Beals. The latter was installed in the fall of

1867. The result of his labors was an addition to the church of nearly one hun-
dred members, and the building of a neat house of worship, without leaving any
debt upon the same.

This sacred edifice was dedicated appropriately on the 1st day of January,

1868, and the dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. L. D. Palmer, now
stationed at Battle Creek. Elder 0. S. Wolfe, the State missionary, was the
next pastor, and served the church six years. He was followed by Rev. J. F.
Foy, who served one year. The church is now served by Rev. A. Wisner, one
of its members, who devotes half of his time to it.

The present oflicers of the church are : Deacons, S. J. Rundle, Warren Bowker,
William Weeks, and W. J. Rundle ; Trustees, J. D. Weeks, W. J. Rundle, Wil-
liam Weeks, G. W. Patterson, George Bruce, and James Stancer ; Clerk, James
Winters ; Building Committee, S. J. Rundle and James Winters. There is a
Sabbath-school connected with the church, which was organized in 1845. James
Winters was the first, and William Weeks is the present superintendent.

THE LADIES' SOCIETY

is an auxiliary to the church, and was formed in 1846, with the following mem-
bers : Mesdames D. N. Willard, H. Richardson, L. L. Wisner, and J. Winters, and
Misses L. Ludden, L. H. Winters, and Susan Wisner. The society now num-
bers fifty members, and has taken the lead in all the benevolent objects of the
day. It was nearly twenty years in accumulating the first hundred dollars, but
since that was accomplished it has been eminently successful. Among its noble
charities was the contribution of a large sum of money and a supply of sanitary
stores to the " boys in blue." And when the destroying element swept over the
northern portion of our State, desolating many a comfortable home, the society
promptly came to the rescue, and forwarded to the commission a large quantity
of provisions, clothing, and money.

In the fall of 1867, when the church was nearly ready for dedication, it re-
sponded with five hundred dollars, which had been laid aside for the purpose of
furnishing the church edifice. In 1875 a number of horse-sheds were erected at
the church, when the society headed the subscription with one hundred dollars,
and in the summer of 1876 it paid over two hundred dollars towards a parsonage
which the church is building.

We are pleased to acknowledge our obligations for assistance rendered in the
compilation of the history of Athens to Alfred Holcomb, Mrs. Benjamin F. Fer-
ris, Captain James Winters, Salmon Walker, S. S. Ware, and Thomas H. Cave.

•* «&<•

HOMER TOWNSHIP.

The township as originally formed included not only its present territory, but
that of Eckford, Albion, and Clarendon. Subsequent to the formation of Calhoun
County, and prior to 1834, Homer formed part of Marshall, and as such received
its pioneer population.

An act was passed in 1834 by the legislature whereby the township was organ-
ized with a surface twelve miles square, thus including four townships of United
States survey. The name Homer was given at the request of James Hopkins,
and others originally from Homer, Cortland county, New York. It constitutes
the southeast portion of Calhoun County. The surface varies from hills and
valleys to undulating plains. These latter, known to civilization as " Burr-Oak
Plains," were a favorite resort of the Indians, and in the " openings" maize-fields
were cultivated. Traces of Indian corn-hills were recognized on the site of the
present village of Homer. An Indian corn-hill was formed by gathering earth
into a small pile, in whose top seed was planted. Once made, it lasted for years
by annually removing the old stalks and inserting fresh seed. The soil of Homer
varies with the altitude of lands. On the low grounds there is a deep black vegetable
loam, excellent for meadows and famous for corn ; on the uplands the lighter loam
is blended with sand and gravel, whereupon fruit thrives. The country is well
timbered. There is maple, beech, ash, and elm on the plains, while oak predomi-
nates on hill and slope, with occasional growth of hickory. The surface of the
" plains," naturally almost devoid of timber, save scattering burr-oaks of small
size, was covered in summer with a dense grassy vegetation, diversified by flowers,
and reaching a height exceeding four feet. Beauty and fertility were attractions
which led to the selection of these places for the settlers' homes. On each of the
following pioneer settlements in Homer were made : Cook's Plains, northwest of
Homer village ; Homer Plains, included between the Kalamazoo and Bent lake ;
Pennsylvania settlement, north of the river ; and the Fisher settlement, in the
southeast.

The Kalamazoo flows from the east, northwesterly to Homer village, thence
northeast to Albion. Several small lakes are scattered through the township.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

In the spring of 1832 two brothers, Henry and Bichard McMurtrie, and
Powell Grover, single men, came from Pennsylvania, and, traversing this region,
camped on the plains northeast of the present Homer, where they entered land,
built log houses, and inaugurated the settlement of the township. William Win-
terteen came hither the same year, and, having chosen and entered land, went to
Pennsylvania for his family. He returned in 1833, driving his own team and
stock. Traversing Ohio by way of Adrian, Jonesville, and Litchfield, he camped
at night by the roadside. These settlers, who constituted the Pennsylvania settle-
ment, are still living on the same land, or if any have deceased, their descendants
occupy the land of their fathers.

In 1834 the Fisher settlement was formed by Cornelius Fisher and his -six
sons, Philip, Matthias, John, Benjamin, Enoch, and Joseph. The same year dates
the settlement in the Fisher neighborhood of Christian Mench, his son Philip,
John Kerns and sons, Jeremiah and Aaron, and James McGregor. Abram Kehl
came out in 1835, and thenceforward the lands rapidly found individual ownership.

Cook's Plains were settled in May, 1832, by Henry Cook, of Cayuga county.
New York, and Anthony Doolittle, formerly of the same State, but later of Ohio.
These men had halted and located in Washtenaw county, but further exploration
discovered these lands, to which they removed via Jackson and Concord, driving
through their stock and hauling their families and household goods by ox-teams.
Their last camp prior to reaching their location was on the ridge opposite the
mills east of Homer. Cook purchased of Hastings land entered by Dr. Hays, of
Marshall, and now located in the township of Eckford. The price paid by the
settler was one dollar and eighty-seven and one-half cents per acre. The land
settled by Doolittle is located in Clarendon. A few months elapsed and other
settlers had come in and contributed to settlement and improvement.

Some time in 1832, Milton Barney, from Lyons, New York, entered a large
part of the land, including the village site and the water-power of the Homer mills.
Early in September, Mr. Barney and family came through, following the St. Joseph
trail leading to Chicago. He first purchased a quarter-section at the crossing of
the south branch of the Kalamazoo, where, camping on the river-bank, he con-
16

structed a log house, near the present site of the Homer mills. In 1833 he built
a saw-mill, and also laid out the plat of a village, which was called Barneyville.

There came out with Mr. Barney several mechanics to build mills, and necessary
material had been brought along, including mill-irons. Timothy Hamlin, of
Clarendon, Henry Stanchell, Richard Norris, and McGuire were of these
mechanics who preferred the couch of an Indian wigwam to the open air on the
first night after arrival. Almost contemporary with the arrival of this party,
Robert McCully settled about a mile northwest of the present village.
Barney occupied his log house nearly two years, boarded his workmen, and kept
a house of entertainment for the public. A small frame building was built, a
miscellaneous stock of goods laid in, and in this, the first framed house in Homer,
the pioneer store was kept. The village site was well chosen, and occupants soon
gathered in. There were Frederick R. Hatch, Samuel W. Hamilton, James
Parsons, Chauncey C. Lewis, Arba Lambson, and Stephen S. Powers. Hatch Was
a carpenter and joiner and cabinet-maker. He assisted in constructing the
Homer House, built in 1835, and in the erection of some of the first buildings.
His family became residents of Homer in 1835. James Parsons assisted Barney
in the store. Lewis, Powers, and Lambson settled on farms at the corners, a mile
south of the village. In 1834, John Burt bought a large tract of land near the
village, and the Leaches, Timothy and Elihu, located three miles to the southeast.
A fresh arrival took place in 1835. Their enumeration supplies the names of
Nelson Dorsey, Nathan Eslow, Isaiah Eslow, Elisha Thornton, Dr. Benner, Moses
and Israel Shaw, Abram Letts, Willet Hopkins, John Ballentine, Jesse Champion,
and David Woodward. Dorsey settled on the Hillsdale road, two miles south of
the village. Dr. Benner, a botanic physician, settled on the same road, a half-
mile from the village, and Letts on the Worthington farm, with the Eslows for
neighbors. Thornton, at first a clerk in the store, later became its proprietor and
one of the leading business men of the town.

In 1836, Joseph Gibbs, Andrew Dorsey, John M. B. Wetherwax, Dr. George
W. Blair, Elery P. Potter, and Rufus Hill moved into the township. Gibbs
settled on a large farm a mile and a half south of Homer village, and his family
still remain in possession. A. Dorsey was magistrate for years, and represented
the county in the State legislature during 1837-38. He commenced running a
stage in 1836, leaving Jonesville and Marshall on successive days. Thomas
Dorsey was the first driver upon this route. Wetherwax and A. Letts, partners
in trade, took the lead in merchandising for several years.

Dr. Blair entered upon the practice of his profession, and has but recently
retired therefrom. He relates the following incidents of the pioneer period :
riding along the road one evening, he saw before him what seemed a black cat ;
another, and yet others appeared, until no less than five occupied the route, a few
feet in front of his horse, whose movements indicated great uneasiness. Presently
a large bear came in view and rose upon her hind feet, and the doctor hurriedly
withdrew from the scene. At another time, returning late at night from a call, a
pack of wolves joined in hot pursuit, which drove him to the protection of a tree,
whence he looked down upon the baffled brutes, whose fearful howls ceased only
with the light of day, when they dispersed and he was free.

Among the settlers of 1837 were David Burt, who entered land three miles
from the village, Arza Lewis, and Hiram Smith, from Clyde, Wayne county,
New York, Edward Henderson, David L. Mahany, and Michael Miller. Messrs.
Lewis and Smith brought on a large stock of goods, and in June opened a store.
Miller bought, but did not occupy, the land now owned by Andrew Herrick. He
started a nursery at the village, and cultivated for eight years ; made an unsuccess-
ful attempt to raise silk-worms ; and, hiring the log house formerly occupied by
Barney, therein kept boarders. Mrs. Miller at the age of seventy-nine is a smart
old lady. In 1875 she passed her seventy-fifth birthday with a daughter in
Portland, Oregon, to which she journeyed without escort. She also visited Mr.
Barney in San Francisco, his present place of residence.

In 1838, four brothers, David, John, Huntington, and Eleazer Jaynes settled
in the southwest of the township, and formed what has since been called the
" Jaynes settlement."

Two doctors, Vernon Parks and Dwight Nims, moved to Homer in 1839, and
there began the practice of medicine. In 1840, Henry Churchill located in the
village, and four years later James Worthington settled on a farm two miles from

121

122

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Homer, and thereon still resides. It is related concerning the first year of settle-
ment that the McMurtries sought seed-corn as far as Ann Arbor, and obtained it
from farmers in small amounts and at a cost of five dollars per bushel. Late in
the fall of 1832 they bought two pigs at White Pigeon, but their main depend-
ence for meat was the Indians, who sold venison, turkey, and honey. Richard
McMurtrie is supposed to have headed the long line of marriages celebrated in
the township. His wife was Nancy Ansterburg, daughter of Frederick Anster-
burg, a settler of 1833. Henry McMurtrie married Yiletta Leach in 1836.
This lady taught the first school in Homer, being engaged by William Winter-
steen to teach his own and his neighbors' children. An orchard was set out by
John Burt in 1835. Milton Barney raised the first peaches in 1836. Bent
erected a cider-mill in 1859. A reaper and mower, made by Smith, of Chicago,
was used by Joseph Gibbs in 1852. It was attached to the forewheels of a
wagon, and is yet used. Bent owned the first stationary thrasher, and in 1847,
Messrs. De Bow and Yan Horn brought an improved thrasher and separator into
the town. A school-house, eighteen by twenty-two feet, and framed, was erected
in 1835, on the farm of John Burt. J. Cross was the first teacher.

The building was moved east of the site of the present Methodist church, and
after several years was dismantled to give place to another, which, in time, was
sold and used as a dwelling. The township supports eight schools, including the
graded institution located at the village.

TOWN-MEETING.

A civil event always important with a free people, the first town-meeting as
such, is regarded with unusual interest. The first in Homer was held April,
1834, at the house of Milton Barney. The moderator was Henry Cook, and
Osha Wilder orhciated as clerk. Stephen S. Powers was chosen supervisor, C. C.
Lewis town clerk, E. L. Rogers, John Fabrique, and Anthony Doolittle were as-
sessors, and George S. Letts constable and collector. Mr. Barney served as justice,
under appointment, until 1837, when the system changed, and Andrew Dorsey,
Freeman Rathburn, James McGregor, and S. S. Powers were elected by the

people.

VILLAGE OF HOMER.

Milton Barney is justly entitled to the credit of having founded the village,
and to the discernment which foresaw the advantages to be realized from the
water-power here furnished. Nor did he, as a speculator, sit idly by and wait
upon the enterprise of others and block the wheels of progress. Successive events
found him their manager. In 1832 he built a saw- and grist-mill. In 1833 he
opened a small store, and in 1834 and 1835 had begun and completed the Homer
Hotel. He also erected a store building on the corner opposite the hotel. A
joint stock company, consisting of Walter Wright, Nelson D. Skeeles, Asahel
Finch, Jr., and M. Barney, was formed in 1837; to these the mill and hotel were
sold, and they the same year built the Homer mills, involving a cost of twenty
thousand dollars.

In 1838 the Calhoun mills, one mile north of the village, were built by a
second company, composed of James Hopkins, Henry Cook, John M. B. Wether-
wax, Abram Letts, and Lewis Smith. During 1837 and 1838, Frederick R.
Hatch built the Homer Exchange, and died soon after moving into the house.
The property was variously owned until it became the property of William P.
Hooker, of Vermont. Hooker changed the name to Green Mountain House,
and served as its landlord until 1853, since which it has not been used as an inn.
The house built by Barney and sold to the company was kept by him as the
Barney House. In 1848, Thomas Dorsey caused it to be remodeled and known
as the Dorsey House. It was then a station of the Hillsdale, Jonesville, and
Marshall stages. The house is now owned and kept by E. Richardson, as the
Richardson Hotel. Subsequent to the sale of the hotel property, Barney built a
commodious stone house, into which he moved in 1838. The structure is now
the home of Albert Collins. The project of a canal to connect the Detroit river
and Lake Erie with Lake Michigan, following the channels of the Huron and St.
Joseph rivers, was considered by Barney and other leading men. A survey
showed the plan to be feasible, and the people of Homer became deeply interested
in the proposed work. Later, when the Michigan Central railroad was contem-
plated, Homer was found on the direct line; but the commissioners found the
people so absorbed in their canal scheme as to refuse all support, and the road
was constructed more circuitously, building up neighboring villages and leaving
Homer to one side. The railroad was then considered more expeditious than the
stage for passenger conveyance, but impracticable for conveyance of freight.
The canal scheme failed, and the Homer people regretted their great mistake;
and when, at a later date, the Air-line and Northern were projected, each received
a cordial, hearty support, and the completion of the Air-line, September 10, 1870,
was observed by a general gathering and grand celebration. Three years later
the Northern Central was an accomplished work.

BANKING INTEREST.

In 1837 a new system of banking sprang into existence in Michigan. Its
basis was real estate security. Bill-holders were secured by bond and mortgage
on real estate, which consisted principally of town lots and unimproved lands,
whose value was fixed at very high rates. The first bank of the kind had its
origin in Homer, and the scheme spread rapidly throughout the country.
Known as the "Wild Cat" banks, these institutions became the instigators of
speculation, and speedily terminated an inglorious existence.

Of the Homer bank, the president was Milton Barney, and Asahel Finch was
cashier. Eight directors were chosen, namely: Milton Barney, Asahel Finch,
Elisha Thornton, Arza Lewis, Hiram Smith, N. D. Skeeles, and Walter Wright,
of Homer, and Leonard Stow, of Concord. The bank was established in Barney's
store, and the paying out of the first bills was from the back window. In 1838
a fine bank building was erected by the directors. It was of brick, and was com-
mandingly located in the central part of the village. The bank ceased existence
before the completion of this building, and it was diverted from the use originally
intended.

EDUCATIONAL.

In 1845, the citizens of Homer canvassing the subject of a higher grade of
school for the village and vicinity, several leading citizens, including Hiram Smith,
Arza Lewis, Henry Churchill, D wight Nims, Vernon Parks, and B. S. Redfield
organized a board of education, who remodeled the old banking-house, and therein
established a school during the ensuing fall. This, the first school in which class-
ical studies were taught in the township, was conducted by Josiah N. Westcott, of
western New York, for several years.

A private subscription was circulated, in 1856, by an association comprising
most of the old board, and the proceeds were applied to the erection of an academy,
built of brick, at a cost of about six thousand dollars. Among the instructors in
this building were J. N. Westcott, Tenney M. Gibbs, and B. Fancher. Later the
academy was transferred to the district, and reopened as the " Homer Union
School."

The first village school was taught by Hannah Leach, about the year 1835, in
the old frame formerly used by Mr. Barney as a store.

A burying-ground, two acres in area, west of the village, and north of Homer
lake, was set off in 1835 by Mr. Barney, and in August of the following year the
body of William Powers was therein interred. The death of Mr. Powers was the
first in Homer township. A few years later a Mrs. Castiline was buried in a
private grave-yard laid out on land owned by John Bent. A plat adjoining, and
belonging to Mr. Barney, was donated by him, and the two, having an area of
two and a half acres, constituted the Homer cemetery prior to 1874. Anew
cemetery was laid out in 1874 on land purchased from the heirs of Dr. Parks,
and located adjacent to the corporation limits. It is comprised in a tract of ten
acres, and is laid off in five blocks, ranging from thirty-four to one hundred and
thirty-nine lots each.

INCORPORATION OF HOMER.

The village was incorporated in 1871, and at the first election the following
corporated officers were chosen : for President, George H. French ; Trustees,
G. H. French, Thos. Lyon, Henry Churchill, James W. Vanderburg, Alexander
Arthur, and E. Potter ; Assessor, B. F. Wetherby ; Treasurer, Thomas Lyon ;
Recorder, Edward Lewis ; Marshal, A. J. Anson ; and Street Commissioners,
Jas. H. Cook and A. B. Waterman.

HOMER BUSINESS INTERESTS.

George Ballentine, in 1836, engaged in carriage-making, and sold in the year
succeeding to Messrs. Benton & Dorsey. In 1835, Asel Woodruff opened a
cabinet-shop, and David C. Morgan began chair-making. The boot and shoe
business was begun in 1837, by N. B. Eaton, and in 1840 Harvey Foot opened a
harness-shop. Samuel Shaw started tailoring in 1835, and A. J. Chestney intro-
duced painting in 1838. The tin and sheet-iron works of Messrs. Letts & Wether-
wax were an institution of the early days ; and, among others, Allen Potter, late
member of Congress from Kalamazoo, worked as journeyman in their shop. Allen
Deming commenced law practice in 1839. Champion Eslow was the blacksmith
of 1835, and was the following year succeeded by Messrs. Dorsey & Benton, who
continued till 1842. D. Benton, A. Dorsey, and E. Thornton, uniting under the
firm-name of D. Benton & Co., during the year 1840 engaged in the manufacture
of fanning-mills. A foundry was started by E. G. Champion, whose interest was
purchased by Messrs. Potter & Hill ; the latter-named of the firm sold to L. Cham-
pion. The new firm of Potter & Champion connected a machine-shop, planing-
mill, and a moulding establishment with their foundry. The firm built the first
steam-engine in the place.

The first newspaper in the village was issued by J. H. Wigmire, by whom it
was entitled The Homer Index. Within a year it passed into the hands of Messrs.

C^v~

. & i^-V ''"'.

^k ;

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

123

Lane & Burt. The latter retiring, the publication was continued by Mr. Lane,
until the purchase of a half-interest by Mr. Van Mumbrane. The present pub-
lishers are therefore Lane & Yan Mumbrane.

For their business hours the citizens of Homer have habits of close attention,
and for gayer times a cornet band, led by W. H. Lane, leads in music and recreation.
The first postmaster, Milton Barney, kept his office in the store on the corner
opposite the hotel. The mail was for some time carried on horseback by Henry
Dorsey from Jonesville. The present postmaster, E. Henderson, has held the
position for sixteen years.

In 1837-38, Andrew Dorsey was elected to the State legislature. Hiram Smith
was chosen representative in 1847-48, and in 1861 and 1863 George H. French
was elected to the senate. Thus it is seen that in trade, education, finance, public
works, manufacture, and official position the citizens of Homer have been con-
spicuously active.

INTERESTS OF TO-DAY.

Messrs. Cowan & Adams are proprietors of the Homer and Calhoun mills.
William Baby controls the planing-mills. Hiram L. Hopkins is proprietor of a
planing-mill and machine-shop, while coopering is done by Horace Anson, David
B. V. Yictor, and D. Swartz. George Sanford is engaged in tin and sheet-iron
manufacture, Andrew Dorsey in wagon-making, and A. Y. Yrooman and Bradford
Hew are in the carriage and blacksmith business. The druggists are M. W. Hatch,
W. A. Lane, and E. Henderson & Son. Three dry-goods establishments are con-
trolled respectively by C. J. Murray & Co., George H. French, and B. H. & C.
T. Howe. Henry Green and Messrs. Thorn & Bradley are engaged in the boot
and shoe trade. Mrs. E. M. Henshaw is confectioner ; B. F. Church is jeweler ;
and J. M. Palmer, 0. W. Mumbrue, and Mahany Bros, are grocers. Banking is
conducted by Thomas Lyon, of Homer Exchange bank, and by Messrs. Parks &
Pratt. Hotels are kept respectively by A. M. Osborn, of the Osborn House, and
E. Bichardson, of the Bichardson House. The market men are Messrs. Wells &
Powers, William Harris, and John Adams. Livery stables are kept by John
Hoffman and Clarence Wilber. Two hardware stores are kept by E. P. Potter
and B. F. Goodrich ; a store for sale of harness and trunks, by J. J. Banford ;
and a store for furniture by Hezmalhalch & Dolph. Shipment of produce is
engaged in by Messrs. Powers & Cook, J. B. Brooks, B. F. Wetherbee, and A.
Collins. The village has seven physicians, — G. W. Blair, E. A. Collins, W. A.
Lane, J. M. Higby, 0. S. Phelps, S. T. Yan Horn, and H. S. Holmer; and one
dentist, C. E. De Bow. There are two resident attorneys, Byron Smith and George
Westcott.

SOCIETIES.

Satisfied that lasting and substantial benefit has resulted from union in the
mystic ceremonies of the lodge, members of lodges coming west hastened to plant
there these institutions.

Humanity Lodge, F. A. M., was established in 1848, at a meeting held at the
Dorsey House, with the following charter members : Caleb Shearman, J. S. Valen-
tine, Michael Miller, John Burt, Joseph Gibbs, Nathan Eslow, Arza Lewis, and
John Ballentine. The first officers were Caleb Shearman, W. M. ; Isaac Yan
Fossen, S. W. ; James Valentine, J. W. ; Nathan Eslow, Treasurer : Michael
Miller, S. D. ; Peter Arthur, J. D. ; Jonathan Bobinson, Tyler ; and James F.
Wooley and Joseph Gibbs, Stewards. The present officers are Wesley Snyder,
W. M. ; Chas. D. Burt, S. W. ; W. A. Lane, J. W. ; M. W. Camburn, Treasurer ;
I. J. Nelson, Secretary ; C. A. Slauson, S. D. ; 0. A. Allen, J. D. ; S. S. Dorsey,
Elias Bichardson, Stewards ; and A. E. Howel, Tyler.

Patrons of Husbandry. — Homer Grange, No. 200, was organized January 10,
1874, by General Deputy C. L. King, and elected the following-named officers :
Abram Gridley, Master; De Alton P. Hatch, Overseer; Leonard Graves, Lecturer;
Thomas E. Eslow, Chaplain ; E. H. Leech, Treasurer ; Charles C. Worthington,
Secretary ; Chandler Murry, Steward ; George Aldrich, Assistant Steward ; George
Agnew, Gate-Keeper ; Mrs. T. F. Lacy, Ceres ; Mrs. S. E. Eslow, Pomona ; Mrs.
E. H. Leech, Flora; and Mrs. George Aldrich, Lady Assistant Steward. The
present officers of the grange are — Abram Gridley, Master ; Thomas E. Eslow,
Overseer ; Mrs. E. H. Cook, Lecturer ; Alexander Cunningham, Steward ; A. E.
Howell, Assistant Steward ; A. C. Sabin, Chaplain ; E. H. Leach, Treasurer ; D.
P. Hatch, Secretary ; W. Snyder, Gate-Keeper ; Mrs. S. E. Eslow, Ceres ; Mrs.
D. P. Hatch, Pomona; Mrs. E. L. Owen, Flora ; and Mrs. A. E. Howell, Lady
Assistant Steward.

Homer Loyal Orange Lodge, No. 69, was organized April 23, 1873, by District
Master Bobert Wiley, with the following-named charter members : Samuel
Hannah, D. P. Hatch, William J. Caldwell, John Morrison, James Adams, and
James Mcllvane. The first officers were Henry Martin, W. M. ; George Armour,
D. M. ; James Linton, Chaplain ; Thomas Hamilton, Secretary ; Francis Hannah,
Treasurer; and Joseph Sloan, Tyler. The present officers are — D. P. Hatch, W.

M. ; Henry Martin, D. M. ; James Mcllvane, Chaplain ; James Linton, Secre-
tary ; Francis Hannah, Treasurer ; James Patterson, Tyler.

Homer Division, No. 20, Sons of Temperance, was organized on January 19,
1875, with ten charter members, named as follows : W. J. Webster, Frank Mead,
E. H. Knapp, H. Hopkins, H. A. Bunnel, J. B. Hutchinson, I. J. Nelson,
Mrs. W. J. Webster, Mrs. E. H. Knapp, and Mrs. Z. P. Eslow. Present officers
are : I. J. Nelson, W. P. ; Hattie Larlow, W. A. ; Charles Dorsey, B. S. ; Phebe
Dorsey, A. B. S. ; Charles Hatch, F. S. ; Abner Sabin, Treasurer ; L. T. Van-
horn, Chaplain ; James McDonald, C. ; Lydia Potter, A. C. ; Addie Hollister,
I. S. ; and C. Agnew, 0. S. The lodge enrolls eighty-eight members.

THE CHURCHES OF HOMER.

The Methodist Episcopal church society was formed in May, 1837, and initial
meetings were held in private houses, then in the store-house of Messrs. Smith &
Lewis, and later in the school-house on the farm of John Burt. The first circuit
preacher was Bev. Perkiser, and H. Colclazer was the first presiding elder. The
following were members of the original society : Benjamin Sabin and wife, Michael
and Lydia Miller, Edmund and Delia Champion, and Orrin Ball and wife. Among
the first preachers were Zebulon Brown, George Breckenridge, Elijah Pilcher,
and George Smith. Michael Miller, named above, was the first superintendent of
the Sunday-school instituted contemporary with the organization of the church.
The present pastor is Bev. Noah Fassett. A church edifice was built by Milton
Barney in 1839, and completed in the year following. E. P. Potter was the con-
tractor. The cost was three thousand dollars. The dimensions are thirty by sixty
feet. The society numbers one hundred and seventy-nine members, and the Sab-
bath-school enrolls two hundred and six scholars. They have a library of over
three hundred volumes.

THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN SOCIETY

was organized on the 4th of September, 1837, and A. Lewis, A. Finch, and D.
Jaynes were chosen trustees. On the same day these officers met to concert
measures regarding the erection of a house of worship. A subscription was started,
a site secured, and a contract made ; then work progressed, and on the 23d of April,
1838, the building was accepted and the contractors paid. The house, a frame,
thirty-six by twenty-four feet, was located on the present site of Dr. Collins' dwell-
ing, and cost seven hundred and thirty-nine dollars. The house, sold in 1854, is
now occupied as a private dwelling. The first minister was the Bev. Dr. Concklin.
Permanent organization of the society occurred June 2, 1838, with thirty-four
members, some of whom united by letter, and others from a Congregational society
formed on Cook's Plains some years before by Bev. John D. Pierce, of Marshall,
and dissolved simultaneous with the founding of the Presbyterian church by Bev.
Elijah Buck. Surviving original members are John and Elizabeth Jaynes, David
Jones, Edward Henderson, and Arza Lewis. The following is the roll of pastors :
Bevs. J. W. Allen, Gurney, Smith, Bennett, E. Buck, H. J. Hammond, Dr.
Morehouse, H. H. Northrup, G. C. Wood, Samuel Fleming, Bela Fencher, W.
F. Bose, and John Gerrish, the present pastor. A vote was passed in 1851 to
build, but action was delayed until 1855, when the present brick edifice was built
at a cost of well-nigh nine thousand dollars. In 1877 a lecture-room was added,
and a furnace placed in the basement, — improvements costing two thousand dollars.
In 1869 a bell was secured for the tower, and two years previous a fine par-
sonage had been built.

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

was organized as " Christ Church, of Homer," on May 25, 1840. Occasional
services had been held for several years by Bev. William N. Lyster, of Brooklyn ;
Bev. Darius Baker, of Jonesville; Bev. Charles Fox, of Jackson; and Bev.
Montgomery Schuyler, of Marshall. Bev. William N. Lyster presided at the
meeting called for organization, at which the following officers were elected:
Wardens, D wight Nims and Anthony Doolittle ; and Vestrymen, Andrew Dorsey,
E. Thornton, A. I. Chestney, S. Shaw, H. Smith, H. D. Garrison, and T. Hamlin.
The Bev. Darius Baker officiated as rector the first year, and held services alter-
nately at Homer and Jonesville. His successor, in 1842, was E. C. Hodgkin, who
served three years, giving half his time to Albion. The Bev. D. Baker remained
from 1845 till 1854, and from this time till 1865 the supply was irregular. Bevs.
Corson, of Jonesville, and William Lyster preached occasionally. Bev. Hudson
was rector from 1862 to 1864 ; Bev. Marcus Lane, for a few months ; Henry C.
Bandall from 1865 to 1867 ; L. L. Bogers, 1868 ; and Bev. L. H. Corson is the
present rector. The church edifice was built during the year 1842.

VILLAGE IMPROVEMENTS.

As may be supposed, the enterprise of Homer citizens has found expression in
various directions, seeking uniformly the greatest good to the greatest number.

124

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

An artesian well was sunk in the square. A reservoir of three hundred barrels j
was constructed. A brick engine-house was built at a cost of three thousand j
dollars, fire apparatus secured, and about five miles of plank walk laid. Lyon's j
block was erected with its three stories. In the highest story is a large hall, and
in the basement are three stores. Improvements continue, and brick buildings j
are in progress of construction. With a population of a thousand, the above
record is one of which the citizen may well be proud. The following statistics |
present in brief a statement of the resources of the township at large :

Population of Homer. — Males, 922 ; females, 850 ; total, 1772.

Live-Stock. — Horses, 536 ; work oxen, 28 ; milch cows, 601 ; neat cattle, j
other than work oxen and cows, 529; swine over six months old, 818; sheep \
over six months old, 3106 ; sheep sheared 1873, 3317 ; mules, 16.

Wheat on the ground, May, 1874, 4097 acres ; wheat harvested 1873, 3515
acres; corn harvested 1873, 1438 acres; wheat raised 1873, 41,204 bushels;
corn raised 1873, 39,886 bushels ; other grains, 19,808 bushels ; potatoes raised
1873, 4779 bushels; hay cut 1873, 1948 tons; wool sheared, 15,656 pounds;
pork marketed, 169,254 pounds ; cheese made, 285 pounds ; butter made, 60,100
pounds; fruit dried for market, 18,681 pounds; cider made, 483 barrels; acres
of orchards, 362; apples raised 1873, 20,502 bushels; pears raised 1873, 23
bushels ; cherries raised 1873, 274 bushels ; melons and garden vegetables, 956
bushels.

Thanks are tendered E. Potter, Thomas Dorsey, Daniel Dorsey, and Dr. Wil-
liam H. Lane for courtesy and information supplied.

ECOZNT. C3-EO. H. F^E^CHI.

George H. French was born in Junius, Seneca county, New York, January 18, 1820. His
parents were Nathaniel an4 Louisa French, who emigrated from Berkshire county, Massachu-
setts, to western New York when it was a comparative wilderness. His father was a farmer,
and here upon the farm, in this new region, the son spent his boyhood, receiving only such an
education as the common schools of that early day afforded, with the single exception of a
winter term of three months in a select school in the village of Waterloo, six miles distant. So
well, however, were these limited advantages improved that, when eighteen years of age, he
oommenoed teaching, and for several years during the winter months was thus engaged, and
secured the reputation of being an excellent teacher. He studied while he taught, thus making
his education practical. During the intervening summers he worked on the farm.

September 23, 1841, he married Miss Julia A. Fancher, of the same neighborhood, and the
next spring removed to Tekonsha, Calhoun County, Michigan, and settled upon ninety acres of
new land, two miles north of the village of Tekonsha, on the main road to Marshall. On this
land a rude log house had been previously built, and a few acres of " clearing" had been made.
Here he and his young wife commenced with high hopes for the future ; but deep sorrow soon
fell upon the humble home, blasting all these hopes and anticipations. The sudden death of
his companion in the autumn of the same year, leaving him with an infant son alone in a new
country and among strangers, was a blow as crushing as it was unexpected. The following
spring found him returning with his motherless child to his native home, where he resided
about two years.

He was again married, September 19, 1844, to Miss Sarah D. Redfield, of Clyde, Wayne
county, New York, and again journeyed west.

Arriving at Tekonsha in October, he taught the village school during the winter, and com-
menced again upon his land in the spring of 1845. Here he remained improving his farm till
the fall of 1848.

He then removed to Homer, his present residence, and engaged scon after in the mercan-
tile business, in which he still continues. For over twenty-five years he has steadily pursued
an honorable business career, and by industry, economy, and integrity has accumulated a
moderate competency, meantime giving to his children the advantages of a liberal education,
and always contributing generously of his means to promote the cause of education and re-
ligion, and to advance the general interests of the town. In Tekonsha and in Homer he has
been frequently called by his townsmen to positions of public trust, and in the fall of 1860 he
was elected to the State senate, — re-elected two years later, — thus representing the county in
the legislature two regular and three special sessions during the exciting and perilous times of
the great rebellion.

His whole public course during those eventful times was characterized by an earnest, enlight-
ened, patriotic love of country and of freedom • and in general legislation his action was uni-
formly judicious and practical, — such as to commend itself to his constituents and command
their confidence.

To him belongs the honor of introducing into the legislature the first resolution asking Con-
gress- to enact, as a war measure, a law " providing that all persons held to service or labor by
those engaged in rebellion shall be discharged therefrom, and endowed with freedom."

This measure, at the time the resolution was offered (January 8, 1862), was in advance of
publio opinion ; yet, in a somewhat modified form, it passed both houses. And so rapidly did
public sentiment concentrate in favor of striking a death-blow at slavery, impelled thereto by
the reverses of our army, and the manifest necessities of the terrible struggle for the nation's life,
that in less than a year thereafter the emancipation proclamation was issued, and the policy of
the nation in regard to slavery became an accomplished fact. The ringing, patriotic resolutions
on the " state of the Union," adopted a year later, were mainly his production. The following
extract shows their spirit : — " That to weaken the enemy by cutting off his supplies, — taking

away his means of support,— stripping him of his property, and depriving him of his slaves,
is no less a duty than actually fighting him in the field • and is demanded alike by the priceless
blood of the gallant soldiers of our army, and the sacredness of the cause in which we are
engaged."

During the same session of 1863 he introduced a resolution, which was unanimously adopted,
to provide " suitable means for perpetuating the memory of the brave soldiers who fell on the
field of battle or died in the service of the country, to the end that their names and heroic
deeds, their sacrifices and sufferings, may be transmitted to posterity upon the enduring records
of the State in a glorious and imperishable Roll op Honor."

To him, therefore, must be given the credit of being first in originating, and of taking the
initial step in providing, the invaluable memorial record which is now carefully preserved in
the archives of the State, — a record in which every citizen has an interest, and ^>f which all
the people of the State may justly be proud.

To him also is the village of Homer and its surrounding country largely indebted for the
two competing lines of railroad built through the town within the last ten years. For these
valuable public improvements, affording at the present time such excellent facilities for travel,
for the transportation of merchandise, and shipment of produce, he labored long and persist-
ently, spending both time and money freely. Called to be a director in both of the companies
that built the roads, and thus having a large share of the preliminary work of the organiza-
tions in the locality he represented to do, large drafts were necessarily made upon his time
and energy.

In obtaining subscriptions, in adjusting rights of way, in legislation in the boards of
directors, in arranging details, and overcoming difficulties, his patience and judgment, his
wisdom and perseverance, as well as his practical knowledge of men and of public affairs, were
called into full and most successful exercise.

His admirable capacity for such enterprises was fully established, and his enlightened and
liberal public spirit universally conceded.

Accustomed to attend upon the services of the sanctuary from a child, the subject of our
sketch received in early life strong religious impressions, leading to such convictions of truth
and duty that, at the age of seventeen, he made a public confession of his faith in Christ, and
united with the Presbyterian church of his native town.

Soon after his return to Tekonsha (there being then no church of his denomination there), he,
in company with Rev. Calvin Clark, a devoted pioneer home missionary, visited all the scattered
individuals residing in the vicinity who entertained the same religious preferences with him-
self, the result being that these isolated persons were gathered together, a nucleus formed, and
a Presbyterian church organized with eight or ten members, which has now become a pros-
perous organization.

After his removal to Homer he still continued to take a lively interest in the little band, and
aided them in building a new house of worship.

For twenty-five years or more he has occupied an official position in the church at Homer,
and, with slight interruptions, has for the same length of time been the superintendent of the
Sabbath-school, seldom being absent from his post of duty.

In official as well as in private life, his charaoter and bearing has been that of an honest,
conscientious Christian man. His benefactions, like his labors, have been constant and unre-
mitting. In his habits, plain, temperate, and unostentatious • in opinion, clear and intelli-
gent; in judgment, candid, judicious, and impartial,* having strong, decided convictions, and
standing firmly, unfalteringly in their support, and in defense of truth, of right, and of justice,
his is a type of character and conduct well worthy the imitation of those who, like him, must
be to a great extent the artificers of their own fortunes and destinies.

Residence of HON .GEO. H. FRENCH , Homer, Michigan .

MAEENGO TOWNSHIP.

By an act of the Territorial legislature of the year 1834 the township of
Marengo was organized, and contained the townships of Sheridan, Lee, and
Clarence. In 1836-37 these were constituted separate townships, unchanged in
formation, as platted on the maps of the United States survey. Marengo proper
is there known as township 2, south ; range 5, west. The northern surface is
rolling, the southern undulating, and comprises what are designated as "bun-
oak plains," and the scattering growth constitutes the " oak openings."

The township is traversed by the Kalamazoo, which enters from the southeast,
and flows westward through the southern portion. Rice creek crosses the eastern
border, and, flowing through the centre of the township to section 17, diverges in
a southwest course. Small lakes exist in various localities. To the north is Fish
lake, to the northeast is Water lake, in the centre is School lake, and southwest is
Buck Horn lake. Numerous springs contribute to furnish an unfailing supply of
water. The upland soil is a sandy loam, while on the plains is a rich dark loam,
especially well calculated for the growth of winter wheat, corn, and oats. Spring
wheat on new ground did well, but of late has not encouraged growth. Boot
crops yield a large return. Fruit is raised in abundance. Opportunities for
grazing encourage sheep-raising, and the wool crop is a staple product. Events
prove that pioneers in this locality were fortunate in their choice of lands for
homes. Concurring statements substantiate the inviting character of place and
surrounding. As settlers halted here in early summer, they beheld the plains
decked in wild-flowers of surprising loveliness. Birds of many kinds and numerous
flew from tree to tree, and, singing, filled the air with sweet melody. The deer
were daily seen grazing upon the rich herbage, or nimbly bounding over the
surface. It was a scene for the painter. Prior to the organization of the town-
ship, leading men assembled to decide upon a name. Mr. Seely, among others,
proposed one of these two, — Marengo or St. Cloud. The former was selected and
confirmed.

EARLY SETTLERS.

The first entries of land were made on June 16, 1831, by Seeley Neal, Ashel
Warner, Elijah Crane, and A. Dustin. On July 4, Colonel John Ainsley and
Erastus Kimball moved in. Joseph Ames came in August, Thomas Chisholm
September 1, Alfred D. Wright on the day following, Elijah A. Bigelow November
28, Nathan Pierce the day after, Alfred Killam on May 30, 1832, and M. J.
Bagg upon the 31st.

Seeley Neal and family of ten children led the way in settlement. His log
house, erected on his arrival, nearly on the ground occupied by the residence of
Colonel John Ainsley, on the south side of the Territorial road, on section 27, was
the first white man's home built in the township. He had short time for prece-
dent acts, as John Ainsley and Erastus Kimball speedily following located upon
section 21.

A REMINISCENCE OF SETTLEMENT.

Mrs. Ainsley's recollections of pioneer life abound in interest. When the
" Michigan fever" — a term applied to the general desire to emigrate to the Penin-
sular State — was at its height, Mr. Ainsley and wife were residents of Pennsyl-
vania. They were three years married, young and ambitious. They caught
eagerly at an opportunity to secure a home in the western El Dorado. Their
worldly store was not extensive. Their personal property was two trunks, a chest
of tools, and a baby. Financially there was a credit of three hundred dollars.
Healthy, courageous, and eager, the young people entered with resolution and
buoyant hope upon their journey.

Arrived at Detroit and unacquainted with he country, they were undecided
what course to take. Acting on the advice of a road acquaintance, they set out
for Calhoun County, whose fine lands had been graphically described to them.
Having bargained for the transportation of the trunks with a person on his way
to that part of the country, and stipulated conveyance for Mrs. Ainsley, the final
stage of the journey was entered upon. The young people walked the greater
part of the way. At Ann Arbor a rest was taken, whence, proceeding to a place
called Thorny Creek, Mrs. Ainsley remained, while her husband, seeking, found
a location, which chanced to be within the limits of Marengo. A journey was
made to Ann Arbor for provisions and essentials of housekeeping. On the way
Mr. Ainsley was attacked by chills and fever, and the purchases were made by

Mrs. Ainsley, he being too ill to attend to it. An ox-team was hired, and they
set out for their new home. On their last night out they enjoyed the hospitality
of Squire Neal, who furnished the best accommodations possible under the circum-
stances. The house was destitute of floor, and the bed was made upon the sand.

j Without fireplace or stove, the side of a log served as a kitchen. Two miles
farther, and they had reached the spot destined for a home.

A tent was pitched. Two sheets formed its roof, bushes closed the sides, and
a small opening left for a door was covered with a table-cloth. In this primitive

| shelter three weeks were passed, during which there was scarcely a rainless day.
To protect the baby from the wet it was placed beneath a wash-tub. Leaves in
lieu of straw were used to fill the beds. On August 25 the house was completed,
and the family moved in. The contrast inspired a sense of comfort. The house
was floored, No other for miles but was floorless. A fair start was taken.

I Owners of a quarter-section of new land, occupying a good house, possessed of a

! cow and a barrel of flour, with six acres of wheat sown, their future was auspicious
of success. Provisions failing in November, a journey to Ann Arbor, sixty-five
miles distant, was imperative. With oxen and sled Ainsley departed. A week
elapsed. He was on his return and three miles from home when one of the oxen
gave out. The animal was freed from the yoke, and Ainsley taking the yoke end
completed the journey. The sick ox died, and the other was used for a time and
finally lost. To fence his ground next spring he was obliged to saw trucks from
a log, make a hand wagon, and upon it draw his rails, assisted by his wife. The
experience of Erastus Kimball, who moved in about the same time as the Ainsleys,
was nearly identical. George W. Dryer and family arrived in 1833, and the descrip-
tion of family movements as told by Mrs. Dryer is worthy of record here. The
last night passed on the journey was spent at Maynard's tavern. Of this she
says, " I had known ever since leaving home that this was to be our final stopping
place, and had, of course, attached considerable consequence to it. I had not
expected to find much of a village, not an eastern hotel, but I must confess that
I was a little disappointed when, coming in sight of a small log cabin, I was in-
formed it was Colonel Maynard's. I did not then understand the difficulties
encountered in building in a new country. Humble and unpretending as was the
outward appearance at Maynard's, we found comfort and good cheer within, and,
though not exactly an eastern hotel, we had an eastern host and hostess, if true
politeness and good breeding are meant by that term."

HOUSE-BUILDING.

A board shanty was Dryer's first residence. A buffalo-robe hung as a door over
the entrance. Several mechanics came out with Mr. Dryer. There were Henry
Grardanier and Wandall Bartles, carpenters, and Thomas Pryor, stone-mason.
The men were soon at work getting out timber for a new house. The fresh-cut
boards of the shanty shrunk beyond the use of chinking and battening, and it
was resolved to build a log house, and all hands entered upon the task. The
plains affording no logs of sufficient size, resort was had to government timber,
and the new habitation was a great improvement upon the old one. In excavating
a cellar, a spring was struck, from which the water gushed clear, cold, and spark-
ling. It was hailed as a most welcome acquisition. The cellar was walled with
sandstone, and in the spring following the house was completed. The shingles
and seasoned lumber of this, the first framed house built in the township of Ma-
rengo, were hauled from Gull prairie, distant thirty miles. The old house, re-
modeled, is now the dwelling of Albert S. Pattison.

INCIDENTS OF THE TIMES.

The Indians were an annoyance to the settlers, especially when intoxicated, and
called at the cabins during the absence of the men to demand anything which
took their fancy, and to frighten the women and children. Nor were these sons
of the forest particular as to the ownership of any article which seemed to lie in
their way.

1833 was a notable season. Considerable wheat had been harvested. Deer
and wild turkey were abundant. Cranberries were plenty on the marshes. The
bee, preceding occupation of the country, had stored of liquid sweets in many a
tree, and the settlers fared sumptuously. The Kalamazoo, unobstructed by dams /
was tenanted by extraordinary numbers of fish. At one time a school of sturgeon

125

126

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

coming up the stream roused the settlers to attack. Using the pitch-fork as a
spear a number were thereby secured; the largest weighed one hundred and
twenty pounds. Bear prowled about the inelosures, and lost no opportunity to
raid among the swine. One evening, Chisholm, living on the Territorial road,
discovered a large bear concealed in a tree in front of his dwelling. Two neigh-
bors were notified, and, bringing their rifles, proceeded to shoot at the bear. Shot
after shot was delivered, without avail, each marksman declaring his surprise that
the bear did not fall, as he certainly had been hit ; but when, finally, bruin came
tumbling down, only one ball was found in his body.

On another occasion, M. J. Bagg had penned a small calf near his house to
secure it from attack by wolves. Two Indians soon after were passing by, when
a dog accompanying them jumped the inclosure, and fastened upon the calf. Bagg
observing this, caught up a club, and hastening to defend his property, with one
blow knocked the dog senseless, whereupon the Indians to retaliate were about to
kill the calf, when the resolute settler, rifle in hand, threatened to shoot the first
to molest it. The Indians, cowed by this action, wished to shake hands in token
of amity.

A FESTIVE OCCASION.

There was work enough for the industrious, and yet there was the time, means,
and disposition to enjoy recreation. On July 4, 1833, a ball was held in the
ample room of Maynard's tavern, but when it was proposed to celebrate the in-
coming year at the same place accommodations were found too limited. Com-
mendably prompt, the colonel, to his building, annexed a board addition as a ball-
room. The ball, which took place January 1, 1834, was attended by settlers from
miles away, who in the pleasures of the mazy dance forgot their wild surroundings.
A bountiful supper was provided by the genial host, and " all went merry as a
marriage bell." Two violins, played by S. Chapman and A. M. Benson, furnished
music on this occasion, which was memorable in the lives of those present. Sur-
vivors of that time declare that " for good cheer and real solid enjoyment," the
New Year's party surpassed any like effort at which they were present. In the
homes of settlers at an early date there were few articles of household use, or
tools for farming. Blocks of wood or benches were substitutes for chairs, which
were luxuries enjoyed by few. A lady, referring to this fact, says, " It was a great
treat to go to Marshall aid sit in a boughten chair." A packing-box, or a board
across barrels, were generally used as tables. In default of stoves, cooking was
done in stone-built fireplaces, or out of doors, beside a log. Although often in
want of food, the people, with notable hospitality common to new settlements,
always stood ready to lend a helping hand to a new-comer. Some men of means
were found among the pioneers, but the great majority were poor. The experi-
ence of a present wealthy and most successful farmer is illustrative of the road
followed by many to insure progress. Arrived at Jackson, his jack-knife and a
shilling being his only possessions, he walked to Marshall, and there engaged with
a farmer at fifteen dollars a month. By saving, sufficient was obtained to enable
him to enter forty acres, and thence onward his progress was assured. The gas-
lamp and the chandelier were unknown in those days. The treasures of the rocks
had not revealed their oil, and the New England whalers were away upon the
great deep. People retired in season and rose with the sun. Those possessing
candles were deemed fortunate, and the light in common use was made by placing
a piece of wicking in melted deer's tallow, and igniting the exposed extremity.

MERCHANDISING.

In 1834 G-eorge W. Pattison arrived with his family, and immediately com-
menced running a team between Detroit and Marshall, thereby supplying an
avenue for provisions and necessaries, which was for several years the main de-
pendence of the community. During the same year Pattison brought in a stock
of goods, and a store was opened by himself and George W. Dryer. They sold
to the firm of Harris & Austin, who enlarged the business and continued in trade.
In 1835 Pattison and Dryer inaugurated a trade in stock. They brought in from
Illinois a drove of cattle, and found speedy sale for them to the immigrants, then
swarming from all quarters. In 1836 a drove of three hundred was quickly sold,
and the business thus encouraged was continued a number of years. Cattle were
sent to various distant points, and Pattison drove a hundred head overland to
New York. Progressing from this toilsome method, the cattle-drovers of Texas
and the Kansas plains shipped their beeves by rail from far west of the Missis-
sippi with ease and dispatch ; then improving on this the dressed beef, packed in
refrigerated tanks, is transported to European markets, and therein competes for
use with native meats. The seed of these enterprises was sown by the early
drovers, popular benefactors and most energetic men. In 1836 Dryer broke up
one hundred and six acres of new ground, and sowed to wheat. Pattison put in
one hundred acres. The crop was hauled to Ypsilanti, then the western terminus
of the Michigan Central railroad, and there sold at one dollar and twenty-five
cents per bushel.

UNREALIZED EXPECTATIONS.

In 1833 a race was dug and a saw-mill built near where the Marshall road
crosses the Kalamazoo. The proprietor, Peter Smith, employed Benjamin Wright
as builder, and began to operate the mill in the spring of 1834. S. G-. Pattison
and G-. W. Dryer bought three-fourths interest, but all parties soon sold to a
number of New York speculators. Schemes for speedy acquisition of wealth by
traffic in Michigan lands were at their wildest altitude, and a village plat was sur-
veyed, recorded, and many lots sold. Buildings, both public and private, were
erected, some by persons having faith in the village, others by the proprietors
themselves. Monetary difficulties at this time caused disaster to many. The
embryo city ceasing to expand, in time contracted, and is to-day the small village
of the early times.

PIONEER LAW.

It was a custom in the early day to respect priority of claim to lots selected for
entry by the actual settlers. The speculative class, of different stamp, practiced
no such courtesy, and hesitated not to anticipate the settler, even when the latter
had begun improving.

Chisholm selected a quarter-section, but had means to enter but forty acres of
it. Parties in Marshall aware of this fact notified a speculative Englishman, and
offered to send a person to the land-oflice to enter it for him. He acquiesced, and
the messenger set out under orders to lose no time in securing the land. Ill tidings
fly fast and far ; Chisholm learned of the danger, and was sore troubled. Seeking
advice from his brother, a blacksmith, in Marshall, the worthy man threw off his
apron, mounted an Indian pony, and started for the land-office. The night was
dark and stormy ; the messenger, apprehending no rivalry, halted by the wayside,
but Chisholm continuing on reached the office early in the morning and at once
entered forty acres in the centre of the coveted tract. The messenger arriving
deemed it inexpedient to enter the other forties, and returned to report the result.
Attempts were made to buy out Chisholm, but each offer met a higher price, and
finally he came into undisturbed possession of the whole. To the quarter-section
other tracts have been added, until within an area of five hundred acres is found
one of the best farms in Marengo. Many instances similar to the above are re-
lated, and the prize was well worth the contest. The Chisholm farm, located in
the southwest part of the township, north of the Kalamazoo, is not excelled in
beautiful location and fertility of soil.

SURVIVING AND PROMINENT SETTLERS.

Most of the old settlers have passed away. Among the few remaining are
Colonel and Mrs. Ainsley, S. G\ Pattison, and Gr. W. Dryer. The latter reside on
farms entered by them. Nathan Pierce visited Calhoun in November, 1831, and
located large tracts in Marengo and Sheridan. It was not till the spring of 1844
that he removed hither with his family and located on the farm originally entered
by Dryer. Mrs. Pierce died in 1861 ; he followed her in March, 1862. As evi-
dence of the esteem in which he was held, it is stated that while a resident of the
township, he was elected a member of the State legislature and creditably filled
the office. Seeley Neal, the first to settle in Marengo with his family, had been
a resident of Washtenaw county, and was one of the commissioners appointed to
locate and survey the Territorial road.

In passing through the township, its advantages originated a desire to make
the locality his home. He entered land on section 22, built a log house, and
moved in his family, which numbered ten children, nine of whom came with him.
It is said of the journey made by Neal from Ypsilanti that five days were oc-
cupied in getting through. One of these was passed in crossing a marsh near
Grass lake. All the cattle were hitched to one wagon at a time, and so each was
brought through. On the morning of the last day of the journey, the rear wagon
capsized, covering three children, little girls. The other teams were far in advance,
and the driver was disconcerted, when a child extricating her hands was released
from her unpleasant position, and, being slightly hurt, ran forward and related the
mishap. The men hastened back and speedily righted the wagon, thereby rescuing
the girls, one slightly, the other more seriously bruised. During the first year
Indians stole his hogs, and all his cattle, save a yoke of steers, died. In spring,
himself, Ames, and Ainsley went to Bronson, now Kalamazoo, for provisions and
seed potatoes. Returning, the frail craft upset, and, the purchases being mostly
lost, the party turned back to make up their loss. Five days were occupied in
making the journey. To Neal is accredited the honor of having planted the first
corn and sowed the first wheat in the township of Marengo. He was the first
town supervisor and the first postmaster. Himself and G. W. Dryer were ap-
pointed justices by the Territorial governor. His remains and those of his wife
and three children lie in the cemetery near his former dwelling. A daughter,
Mrs. Mary Parks, resides in Marshall.

Dr. R. B. Porter, a graduate of Castleton college, Vermont, and a private pupil

If

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

127

of Prof. Woodward, moving in from Washington county during 1836, was the
pioneer of his profession. Health was good until 1839, when chills and fever
became prevalent, and so continued until 1844. Dr. Porter had a practice extend-
ing through Sheridan, Clarence, Albion, and Eckford. A physician of forty years'
practice, he has never known serious personal illness, and now resides with his
son-in-law, H. N. McCormick. A son, Wm. H. Porter, a prominent lawyer in
Marshall, was the first Marengo collegian. In 1844, A. S. Nichols settled in the
town, of which his widow is a present inhabitant.

In 1833, Loren Maynard, of Madison county, New York, settling on section 23,
erected a log house, and opened the tavern of which mention has been made. Colonel
Maynard was at different times postmaster, supervisor, sheriff, and member of the
legislature. In 1836 he built a new tavern stand, of which he had charge till
1844; in connection, he cultivated a farm of a quarter-section.

SETTLERS OF 1836.

Several men, citizens of Oswego and Cayuga counties, New York, came out to
Michigan in 1836 to prospect for land. The party consisted of David Miller,
Caleb Hanchett, B. H. Carrier, Abram Hadden, and Amaziah Carrier. Their
choice was timber land, to explore which the county surveyor was engaged, and
the pioneers started into Lee, but encountering the great marsh, turned back, and
located in the northeastern part of Marengo. Miller chose section 5, and also
land in Sheridan. Carrier entered on section 2, as did Caleb Hanchett, who took
up land in Lee. The others settled in the neighborhood in Lee and Clarence.
Miller lives in Marshall, his son Charles being on the farm. Caleb Hanchett
occupies a brick dwelling, the first of the material built in the town. Others are
living on the farms located by them in 1836.

In the spring of 1837 the associate settlers set out from New York with their
families, and came through with ox-teams. They cooked their food by the way-
side, and slept in their wagons. Roads were execrable. Floods had swept away
bridges, and the route along Lake St. Clair was submerged two feet in water.
Many emigrants on the way rendered frequent mutual assistance to extricate their
wagons from sloughs of mud. In places the united strength of eight yoke of oxen
was requisite to pull through. David Hanchett, proceeding in advance, was de-
tained thirty-six hours at Windsor by floating ice, which temporarily cut off ferriage.
He finally proceeded eighteen miles down the river, and effected a crossing on the
ice at a place where it extended nine miles along the head of Lake Erie to the
Michigan shore. Twenty-one days were occupied on the journey. Provisions
were scarce, and a stock was obtained by sending ox-teams to Detroit. During
the summer, three wagons, each drawn by two yoke of oxen, were sent for pro-
visions, and a fortnight was required for the trip. The prices assigned to pro-
visions were extortionate and extravagant. " Wheat was worth at that time four
dollars per bushel, flour eighteen dollars per barrel, pork, forty dollars per barrel,
and other provisions at equally high rates." No wonder that the people sought
substitutes. The treasures of the Black Hills would scarcely maintain such prices.

The settlement was made at the corners of four townships, — Marengo, Lee,
Sheridan, and Clarence, — and has since borne the name of" Rice Creek settlement."
The fairest spots are the favorite lurking-places of the most deadly reptiles. The
Massasaugers swarmed along the creek. Mr. Miller, in mowing grass upon the
marsh adjoining, killed eighty of these rattlesnakes within a mile's distance.
Black snakes were plentiful and of great size. Some were killed that measured
ten feet in length. Their favorite food was the young of fowls and turkeys.

PRISTINE EVENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS.

A bridge across Rice creek, where the Territorial road crosses near Marshall,
was built by Colonel Ainsley in 1833. Messrs. Adams & Thompson opened a
stage route from Detroit to Kalamazoo during the winter of 1832-33. They
began with a two-horse wagon. The four-horse coach followed, and this was
superseded by the Michigan Central railroad, constructed by the State through a
board of internal improvement. The road was completed and the first train of
cars was run through Marengo in 1844. The State, by Act 42 of the year 1846,
sold the road for two million dollars, the act named being at once a deed of sale
and a charter.

A saw-mill, now in use, and owned by Perrin & Robinson, was built on Rice
creek by George Ketchum in 1835. Ketchum sold to M. J. Bagg, who operated
it some years. The first flouring- and grist-mill was built in 1839, by Sidney S.
Alcott, who supplied four run of stone, and engaged as miller John Evans, just
then arrived from Rochester, New York. The mill was burned in 1844, and
three years later Evans erected another on the same site. The old miller is still
at his post, and, enjoying a good patronage, has invested his profits in the purchase
of real estate in the village and its vicinity. Mr. Evans is proprietor of a saw-
mill, erected in 1847 by Mr. Pattison, near the flour-mill. Carding machinery

was brought into Marengo by Henry Mallory in 1835, and quite a business was
done by him for some time in carding wool.

Of the various store-buildings erected at different times but one remains in
use, — that of H. M. Evans, who deals in general merchandise suitable to the
locality.

The pioneer blacksmith was George Christian. The village now contains two
blacksmith-shops, a wagon-shop, and a cooper-shop.

CO-OPERATIVE BUILDING.

Unanimity of action has made the farming class powerful, — controlling trans-
portation, reducing prices of machinery, and securing other advantages. In 1866,
Marengo farmers, desiring a place from which to ship their produce, erected, by
subscription among themselves, a building to be used as a freight depot and pas-
senger station. The building, which stands in the village near the Michigan Cen-'
tral railroad, has been purchased of late by the railroad company. A railroad, '
verging toward completion, and extending from Marshall to Coldwater, extends
along the western part of the township, and promises much for the farming com-
munity. A strong water-power, supplied by the river, drives the machinery of a
flouring-mill and saw-mills. There is capacity for large manufacturing establish-
ments, and time may be when through this agency Marengo village may become
a city. The improved thrasher and separator was introduced by E. Lusk and S.
Chapin, and the first combined reaper and mower was owned by S. G. Pattison.

The first-born white child in Marengo was Mary, daughter of Hiram Dowling,
on September 21, 1831, and hers was the first death, six months later. Lorenzo
Dowling, born in March, 1833, was the first male child native to the township.
The first adult death was of Noah Neal, father of Seeley, on July 30, 1832. The
grave-yard, not now in use, was given by Mr. S. Neal to the town. The village
cemetery was laid out in 1839, and the wife of Lewis Grant was the first to be
buried in that inclosure.

The first marriage in Marengo took place August 4, 1833, at the residence of
Roswell Wilcox, uncle to the bride. The parties were Clark Smith, of Marshall,
and Mary A. Wilcox, of Marengo. The magistrate employed was General Isaac

D. Crary. Not in form, ceremony, and display, but in mutual respect, regard,
and forbearance, rest the hopes of happy union.

SCHOOLS.

In the house of Erastus Kimball, in 1833, a Mrs. Skinner opened the first
school taught in Marengo. On the completion of her house, then being built,
the school was removed thither. Mrs. Parks, of Marshall, then known as Mary

E. Neal, was a pupil in attendance. Other schools were taught in the houses of
S. Neal and E. Kimball. In 1834, S. Powers taught in a school-house erected
on the land of Thomas Chisholm. The original school in Marengo village was
conducted in a board shanty, which stood on land owned by Benjamin Wright, on
the site of the present brick school-building. Miss Sarah Dennis, the teacher in
1836, is now the wife of Francis Peck, of Barry county.

The township contains eight district school-houses ; half the number are of
brick, and the value of school property is estimated at fifteen thousand dollars.

RELIGION.

The first religious services in Marengo were conducted by Rev. R. Hobart, a
Methodist, at the house of S. Neal. The minister was also employed at Marshall.
There were many Presbyterians among the settlers who attended meetings at
Marshall, to which they made the required journey, often on foot, at times by
ox-teams. A non-sectarian church was erected in the summer of 1853, by an
association comprising men of no particular religious denomination. The edifice,
in dimensions forty by fifty feet, was built by John Evans in the same year, at a
cost of one thousand dollars.

The sermon of dedication was preached by Rev. L. H. Moore. Thirteen men
constituted the association, and each contributed to the enterprise one hundred
dollars. They are named as follows : John Evans, S. G. Pattison, G. W. Dryer,
R. B. Porter, Milo Soule, Alden Boughton, Augustus Lusk, Lorin Maynard,
Jacob Gardanier, Joseph Otis, 0. D. Rogers, William Hewitt, and William Hos-
kins.

THE METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH,

now known as the Methodist church, was formed at the Rice Creek settlement,
in 1842. The society was organized by the Revs. Pratt and Barrie, with the
following members, — B. H. Carrier, Abram Hadden, Silas Wood, C. Hanchett,
D. H. Willey, Amos Hadden, and their wives. S. Wood was the first class-
leader. A church building, thirty by forty feet, was erected in 1853, at a cost of
one thousand five hundred dollars. The pastor at present is L. Mills. A Sab-
bath-school was organized with the formation of the society ; members, sixty
scholars. The first superintendent was D. H. Miller, and the present officer is

128

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

E. A. Carrier. The church has been favored by several revivals. In 1860,
twenty persons were converted; in 1872, thirty, and in 1875 Rev. Nichols bap-
tized forty persons on the same day in Duck lake.

POSTAL FACILITIES.

A post-office was established during the winter of 1831-32, Seeley Neal being-
postmaster. The first mail was brought by Elijah Pilcher, a circuit-rider, and
among the missives was one containing Neal's appointment as justice of the
peace. During the first year the mail was brought by travelers whose journey
lay in this direction. A stage began to run in 1833, and mails became regular.
Colonel Maynard was appointed deputy postmaster, and the office was removed to
his tavern. Successive postmasters have been Charles George, Enos Houck,
Peter Mulvaney, and John Evens, who has held several terms and kept the
office at the village store.

IMPROVED STOCK.

A contrast of cattle and swine of the native and foreign breeds indicates progress
in stock-raising. S. Gr. Pattison early introduced the Durham short-horn cattle,
imported by a Mr. Weddel, and hence known as the Weddel stock. The cattle
are favorites, and few farmers but have them in their fields. The first sheep in
Marengo were natives, but about 1850 Messrs. Pattison, Dryer, Maynard, and
Ainsley brought from the east some of the best blooded sheep there found. Their
distribution throughout the county and State marked a great improvement in the
flocks. In 1857, Charles A. Miller purchased of Daniel Kleborn what were
known as Spanish Merino sheep, and with them obtained the following : " This is
to certify that I have this day sold to Charles A. Miller, of Marengo, Calhoun
County, Michigan, a number of ewes, bred by B. J. Hall, of Addison county,
Yermont. These ewes are of the pure Infantado breed." The purchaser has
maintained the purity of his flock, which are noted for large size, fine form, and
heavy fleece, as well as strong constitution, qualities which make them sought
after by the wool-growers of the surrounding country.

Among swine the favorites are Sussex, Suffolk, and Berkshire. No one in
the town makes a specialty of breeding. No particular effort has been taken to
improve the breed of horses, yet an interest now awakened promises to result in
great progress in this respect.

TOWN GOVERNMENT.

The first annual town-meeting was held on the first Monday in April, 1833, at
the house of S. Neal. Joseph Ames was chosen moderator, and S. Neal clerk
pro tern. The following named were then duly elected: S. Neal, supervisor;
Harmon Neal, town clerk ; Alfred Kellam, Beuben Abbott, and S. Neal, asses-
sors ; Joseph Ames, S. Neal, and Benjamin Wright, road commissioners ; Harmon

Neal, constable and collector ; J. Ames and B. Abbott, directors of the poor, and
J. Ames, overseer of roads. The paucity of settlement was well indicated by the
cumulation of offices upon one and the same person. Election being over, it was
voted to pay a bounty of three dollars for the scalp of each wolf killed in the
township. In 1835 the bounty was increased to five dollars. The appointment
of George W. Dryer to be justice of the peace was made in 1833 by Stevens T.
Mason, acting governor of the Territory. For the year 1837, we have the first
record of votes polled. It is given at ninety-one ballots for supervisor. It was
increased by 1838 to one hundred and forty-nine. At the first election for jus-
tices, in 1836, J. Townsend, William E. Wells, A. Kellam, and Benjamin Wright
were chosen. The original town record is still in use, and chronicles the minutes
of the ^meetings of forty-four years.

LIST OF MARENGO SUPERVISORS.

The following have filled the office of supervisor : Seeley Neal, four years ;
Benjamin Wright, William E. Wells, Bufus Hartwell, John Lusk, Absalom
Nelson, Lorin Maynard, Thomas Chisholm, four years ; Milo Soule, four years ;
Nathan Pierce, W. Haskins, four years; Isaac Hewitt, George McKay, Lewis
Townsend, eleven years ; B. F. Withee, Henry N. McCormic.

In 1834, Horace Brace was elected supervisor ; he died before he had qualified,
and Seeley Neal was elected to fill the vacancy.

PRESENT TOWN OFFICERS.

Supervisor, Henry N. McCormic ; Town Clerk, 0. Clark Johnson ; Treasurer,
Peter O'Brien, Jr. ; School Inspector, W. Kaesley ; Superintendent of Schools,
Petar Mulvaney ; Commissioner of Highways, Joseph Loehr ; Justices, Charles
E. Southwell, Samuel S. Deforest; Constables, Luther Wallace, Adrian Jennings,
David D. Lewis, Buggies Botherick. A full Democratic ticket.

Population of Marengo. — Males, 678; females, 575; total, 1253.

Live-Stock.— Horses, 474 ; work oxen, 32 ; milch cows, 475 ; neat cattle, other
than work oxen and cows, 442; swine, over six months old, 764; sheep, over six
months old, 5714 ; sheep sheared, 6500 ; mules, 2.

Wheat on the ground May, 1874, 5115 acres; wheat harvested 1873, 3959
acres; corn harvested 1873, 1744 acres; wheat raised 1873, 63,416 bushels;
corn raised 1873, 58,530 bushels; other grain 1873, 24,480 bushels; potatoes
raised 1873, 7949 bushels; hay cut 1873, 1835 tons; wool sheared 1873,
27,776 pounds; pork marketed 1873, 48,316 pounds; butter made 1873, 37,765
pounds; fruit dried for market 1873, 860 pounds; cider made, 491 barrels;
orchards, 364 acres; apples raised 1873, 16,530 bushels; pears raised 1873,
148 bushels; plums raised 1873, 32 bushels; cherries raised 1873, 201 bushels;
grapes raised 1873, 12 hundredweight; strawberries 1873, 16 bushels; currants
and gooseberries, 17 bushels ; melons and garden vegetables, 1639 bushels.

L

Caleb Hanchett

JvIrs. Esther Hanchett.

Residence or CALEB H AHCHtTT, /^arenoo 7p, Calhoun Co.,flicH.

\ .

'"''""'ifiS'

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

NATHAN PIERCE.

MRS. NATHAN PIERCE.

NATHAN PIERCE

was born in Cheshire, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, September 27, 1790,
being the oldest of a family of four sons and four daughters, and died in Marengo,
in Calhoun county, of paralysis, March 29, 1862. He was of Scotch descent on his
father's side, and on his mother's, Irish, her maiden name being McLouth. When
young Nathan was at the tender age of five years his father removed to Farm-
ington, now Manchester, Ontario county, New York, to a tract of four hundred
and fifty acres of densely timbered land, and thus the subject of this sketch com-
menced his pioneer life in reality amidst the howling of wolves and the whoops of
the savage Indian. But other sturdy settlers with stout hearts and strong arms
arriving soon, the forest disappeared before them, and the comforts and conveni-
ences of life followed. Schools and churches were established, and at the common
school, with a couple of terms at the Canandaigua academy, the pioneer of two
States received his education. He was drafted in the war with England in 1812,
and promptly responded to the call of his country and fought in the battle of
Queenstown, being present at the storming of the fort where General Brock, the
British commander, was killed. In another battle afterwards he was taken prisoner
and sent to Fort George, where he was soon paroled. His father died in 1814,
at the early age of forty-four, and soon after Nathan returned home and assisted
his mother in the management and settlement of the estate.

His father enjoyed largely the confidence of the community, it being recorded
in the history of Ontario county that he held the offices of supervisor and justice
of the peace for nearly a score of years. This mark of respect was extended to
his son, who was elected to the same offices, made vacant by the death of his
father, for many years.

In 1817 he married Miss Amy Aldrich, and, while mainly occupied in agricul-
tural pursuits, he undertook some other ventures, in which he lost money, — a
large contract on the Erie canal, and an interest in a woolen -factory which was
burned, being among the number. After living for thirty-seven years in the town
which he had seen transformed from a wilderness to fertile and beautiful farms, he
resolved to become a pioneer in the settlement of the then Territory of Michigan.
As early as 1831 he made a journey to the country, and traveled through it quite
extensively, his sound judgment leading him to conclude that it had natural advan-
tages which only needed perseverance and enterprise to develop them, and make
17

it in time one of the most prosperous States in the Union. He made a second
visit early in 1832, and located thirty lots of land, principally in this and Wash-
tenaw counties, and settled with his family near Chelsea, in the latter county, in
July of the same year. He lived there twelve years, and with his untiring in-
dustry and the experience acquired in his early pioneer life soon made the wil-
derness again blossom as the rose. He left a fine farm of four hundred acres there
in possession of a son, who now owns and lives on it, and in 1841 moved to the
fertile and beautiful lands that he located in Marengo, where he lived the remainder
of his days. He was six feet in height, strong and muscular, and gave a practical
illustration of his respect for the dignity of labor by always being occupied, even
to the day he was stricken down, in the multifarious duties pertaining to farm life.
He was a member of every constitutional convention in Michigan, and served
frequently in the legislature as representative and senator. He had a strong will
and oreat practical common sense, and was eminently honest in public and private
life, despising everything that savored of trickery in the ordinary dealings of man
with man, or the scheming of politicians.

MRS. NATHAN PIERCE

was born in Rhode Island, and died in Marengo, February 28, 1861, aged seventy-
four years. When yet a child her father moved to Massachusetts, where the family
lived several years. When her father died, she, with her mother and several
brothers and sisters, moved to Ontario county, New York, where she married Mr.
Pierce, in 1817. She was one of those sweet and amiable characters who are con-
tent to pass life's pilgrimage in ministering to the wants of others. Modest and
retiring in manner, she sought not display nor the praise of the world, but gently
and quietly exercised her noble powers in her family circle, or in benevolent acts
to the needy. She was the mother of three sons and four daughters, all of whom
are yet living. In religious sentiment she was a Friend, and the quiet simplicity
of her life and character was truly in harmony with the principles of that excel-
lent sect. She had enjoyed good health the most of her life, and by her industry
and practical economy materially contributed to her husband's prosperity, bravely
and patiently enduring with him all the trials and privations of their earlier and

later pioneer life.

129

ISO

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

MORRISON SACKETT.

Morrison Sackett was born October 24, 1811, in Martinsburg, Lewis county,
New York. His parents, Justice and Fanny (Faxon) Sackett, at an early date
removed to Raisin, Lenawee county, Michigan. At the district schools, on
the farm, and in the tannery, Sackett's early years were passed. Up to January,
1842, life was uneventful; but at that date marriage was consummated to Miss
Mary A. Brooks, daughter of Abram and Esther G. Brooks, formerly of Steuben,
Oneida county, New York, and new responsibilities called to activity ; resulting,
ten years later, in the purchase, in the town of Marengo, of an improved farm
of eighty acres, — the present home of his family. Governed through life by
strong religious principles, he connected himself, at an early period, with the
Baptist church, and exemplified the doctrine of " peace and good will towards' all
men." A Democrat in politics, he was a stanch advocate of the party, although
no aspirant to public position. Unassuming in demeanor and firm in convictions
of duty, his judgment, when pronounced, was unalterable. Through life his
strong nervous temperament and ceaseless activity combined to cause the ac-
quisition of wealth he was not destined to enjoy. He was stricken in his prime
during the year 1872, and departed lamented by loving kindred and regretted by
an extensive circle of friends. His widow resides with her only daughter, Frances
A., wife of D. S. Van Blecum, to whom she was married March 18, 1873. The
son-in-law occupies and works the old farm.

GALEN SAMSON.

Galen Samson, whose portrait and sketch of residence appear in this work,
was born August 8, 1822, at Duffield, Oneida county, New York. His parents,
• Joseph and Martha (Crossman) Samson, soon after his birth removed to Herki-
mer county. The routine of the farm had grown familiar, and he had thorough
knowledge of the manufacture of brick. When at majority he took up his
bundle and proceeded on foot to Hammond, St. Lawrence county, where he
labored for a year as a farm hand. For five subsequent years, in different places,
the same experience befell him, and finally June 6, 1850, found Mr. Samson in
Marshall, Michigan. After a year's labor for L. G. Crossman, he purchased
eighty acres adjoining that person's farm, and has since known a permanent home
thereon. He paid fifty-nine dollars as the first installment of purchase money,
and realized the remainder from products of the farm. Returning to New York
in 1852, Mr. Samson there married Nancy Hartness, native of the same village
as himself, and at once returned with his young wife to his western home. By
united effort the farm was soon cleared from debt, but the faithful helpmeet was
not long permitted to enjoy the fruits of her labors. Her death occurred in 1858,
after a brief illness. Mr. Samson has ignored politics, and given sole time and
attention to a farm whose cultivation and improvement mark him one of Marengo's
best agriculturists.

To Mr. and Mrs. Samson six children were born. Their names and date of
birth are given as follows: Eliza, March 21, 1853 ; Elenetha, May 4, 1855 ;
Seymour, February 13, 1857 ; Galen, June 14, 1858; Adelaide, May 19, 1860 ;
and Curtis, July 16, 1862.

WILLIAM C. WHITE.

The above-named is one of those men who have made life a success, and towards
its close can lay aside care to enjoy the honest gains of a long period of active
usefulness. His birthplace is Ames, Montgomery county, New York ; the date,
September 15, 1813. He was three years of age when his parents removed to a
farm in Manchester, Ontario county, New York. Achel White, the father, sold
out in 1835, and, accompanied by his two eldest sons, came out to Michigan to
secure a new home. He located a farm near the centre of Marengo township, and
was joined in 1836 by the rest of the family. William, being of age, chose the
trade of house carpenter, at which he worked for two years in the township of
Eckford. Returning to New York in 1840, he remained a year, when he came
back to Michigan, and, in 1844, was married to Bethania, daughter of Anthony
and Elizabeth Hathaway Johnson, formerly of Onondaga county, New York. He
now purchased from his father his farm, on which he has continued to reside.
The estate numbers two hundred and five acres; it is beautiful of location, care-
fully cultivated, and produces abundant crops.

In politics, Mr. White is a strong partisan, of Democratic principles, and takes
a live interest in the questions of the day. He has served in positions of minor
importance, but declines to accept those more responsible, for which he has not
the leisure to give requisite attention. Would that this and like examples of
persevering industry had the power to inspire in the young a resolution to " go
and do likewise!"

MILO SOULE.

New York having received the enterprising, ambitious population of other
States, and developed by their industry, acknowledged her obligations, and gave
of her best sons and daughters to plant healthful settlements in western States.
Among these was Milo Soule, born July 3, 1804, in Madison county, New York.
In 1805 his father removed to Freehold, Green county, New York, and engaged
as tanner and currier. His son attended the village school until his twelfth year,
when he went to reside with a farmer uncle. At fifteen he returned home, and
alternated summer and winter in farming for his father and teaching school, until
1830, when he married Irena, daughter of Sardius and Sabra Blodgett, formerly
of Vermont, Mr. Soule now purchased a farm located in Murray, Orleans county,
New York, and worked thereon until 1835, when he resolved to go west. He
came the same year to Marengo, bought land, returned for his family, and brought
them to their new home.

He paid for his land, and had besides a wagon, a span of horses, and ten dol-
lars cash. Settling down to farm life in earnest, he cultivated his fields till 1869,
when he sold, and bargained for the place now his residence.

Mr. Soule, while active in private life, has rarely been exempt from public duty.
A justice of the peace for thirty-six years, county treasurer six years, township
supervisor four years, town clerk several years, and delegate to the constitutional
convention in 1850, we may truly characterize him a prominent public man. No
neutral in politics, he was not a partisan Democrat, and in the construction of
public works he has ever been found in the van. He is seventy-three years of
age, yet hale, hearty, and active as many men of forty.

His disposition calls for employment, and he continues in business not as a
source of -revenue, but to counteract the ills of idleness. He will wear out, not
rust out, and he will preserve to the last those faculties — sound sense and sober
judgment — which have challenged the esteem of all who have his acquaintance.
He has five children living, three sons and two daughters, all married, and active
in life's duties.

The following is the record of their births and marriages: Harrison, born
August 4, 1831 ; married November 24, 1855, to Mary Parker. Sabra, born
June 27, 1833 ; married June 22, 1867, to L. C. Richardson. George H., born
August 12, 1839 ; married October 29, 1861, to Emeline Higgins. Lester, born
June 15, 1843 ; married December 13, 1867, to Cornelia A. Day ; and Alice, born
July 27, 1849 ; married December 7, 1872, to Leander Emery.

S. G. PATTISON.

We may truthfully name the above a representative man of Marengo township,
having been an early settler and closely identified with the public interests from
the start. He has not found it necessary to accept public position to enable him
to promote any scheme looking to the welfare of the community of which he is a
member.

fAftS.fAlLO SOULE.

fJilLO SOULE.

&s J5 V

Residence or MILO SOULE, Marengo Tp, Calhoun Co. ( Mich.

Residence of Wm. C.White, sec. 3 mapengo tp, calhqun co.mic

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

131

He was born of Quaker parentage, September 30. 1811, in the township of
Farmington, Ontario county, New York, and when fifteen years of age commenced
running a line boat on the Erie canal, between Albany and Buffalo, and continued
so employed four years. He, on September 11, 1831, married Maria Smith, also
a native of Farmington, and for a year or two thereafter engaged in a grocery and
milling business. Influenced by the reports of fine opportunities to be secured in
Michigan, he removed thither in 1834, and settled upon a farm which has since
been his home. Arrived at Marengo, he put a team on the road between Marshall
and Detroit, and engaged in transportation of goods until the completion of the
railroad to Jackson. As stated in township history, he was, in connection with
G. W. Dryer, largely engaged in the cattle trade. He was for some time the main
reliance of early settlers for their supplies of provisions.

Of active temperament, he has until recently engaged constantly in business
pursuits. A retrospective view presents a life useful to self and fellow-men.
Active in affairs of political import, his first vote was cast for Andrew Jackson,
and thenceforward he has advocated the principles then enunciated. Mrs. Pattison
has for several years been an invalid. Six; children were born to the family ; one
died an infant, the others grew to maturity, and of thorn the following record is
made:

Albert S. Pattison, born April 0, 1833; married April 20, 1854, to Helen
Hopkins.

Ruth D., born October 18, 1835 ; married October 19, 1858, to II. B. Smith.

Elizabeth G., born February 20, 1838; married September 12, 1855, to Isaac
D. Comstock; died July 25, 1857.

Adda M., born April 18, 1843 ; married April 7, 1863, to Frank L. Gunnison,
of Eckford.

Georgianna, born June 5, 1840; married May 21, 1867, and died March 19,
1869.

Thus briefly are noted the cardinal points of human existence. Unconsciously to
many the intervals glide by, and they soon pass from the cradle to the grave. Here
are seen the marriages of five children, — happy occasions to their parents, times of
festivity and joy. Thrice has the summons come to the Pattisons, and still in old
age the parents survive. It is well for them that their lives are rich in improved
opportunities, — the remembrance of kind acts and useful deeds is a precious treasure
to those advanced in years.

ISAAC HEWITT.

The subject of our present sketch, Isaac Hewitt, is one of the leading and
representative farmers of Marengo township, which justly claims the best farmers
in Calhoun County. He was born in Palmyra township, Pike county, Pennsyl-
vania, February 1, 1819, where, and in Wayne county, he resided until 1836,
when he came to Calhoun County with his father, Dethic, and mother, Louisa
(Ainsley) Hewitt, who were also natives of Pennsylvania. His father was a jus-
tice of the peace in Pennsylvania, and also in Calhoun and Cass counties, Mich-
igan, for several years, and is at present a resident of the latter county, being aged
eighty-two years. His father and the family located in Marengo in 1836. Isaac
learned the blacksmith's trade of his father, and followed it until 1854, when his
shop burned down, w T hereupon he turned his attention to farming. His first land
purchase was eighty acres of his present location, to which he has added subse-
quently until now he owns two hundred and thirty-seven acres in a body, on section
16, which he has brought from its wild and primitive condition to one of the best-
tilled farms in the township of Marengo. We present to our readers, on another
page, a view of the valuable improvements Mr. Hewitt has placed upon his farm,
together with portraits of himself and his estimable wife, Olive (Miller) Hewitt,
a daughter of David H. Miller, now of the city of Marshall, but a native of New
Jersey.

Mrs. Hewitt was born in Brutus, Cayuga county, New York, December 31,
1825, and was married to Mr. Hewitt October 13, 1845. The fruits of this
union have been the following children : David M., Howard Eugene, Mary
Louisa, Minnie Alice, and Carrie L., of whom Minnie alone survives. She is
now attending the university at Ann Arbor, pursuing a classical course of four
years.

Mr. Hewitt is identified with the Kepublican party in his political affiliations,
and was formerly a Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for Van Buren,
in 1840. He has held the position of supervisor of Marengo for several years,
discharging the duties of the office acceptably to all parties. He is not a mem-
ber of any church organization, but ranks high among his fellow-citizens as an
upright, moral, and enterprising man. Mrs. Hewitt and her daughter, Minnie, are
members of the Congregational church of Marshall.

HENRY L. WHITE.

The subject of the present sketch was born in Ira township, Cayuga county,
New York, October 20, 1819. His parents, Asa and Lucy (Bennett) White,
were natives of Connecticut, and removed therefrom to Cayuga county. Mr.
White lived as a boy with his father, assisting on the lattcr's farm and attending
the district schools of the country until he was twenty-one years of age, at which
time he removed to Calhoun County, Michigan, and located in the township of
Clarence, purchasing from time to time lands until he now owns a good farm of
two hundred acres. He resided on his farm until March 15, 1872, when he
assumed charge of the county almshouse and farm, and has been so engaged to
the present time. He is quite successful in the management of the unfortunates
placed under his charge, his strong common sense and humanity blending and
controlling his actibns to such a degree as to make his rule on the farm a success.
On the 20th January, 1839, Mr. White was married to Julia Ann, daughter of
Noah Brown, a native of Massachusetts. Mrs. White was also a native of Mas-
sachusetts, where she was born in 1822, and removed with her parents to Cayuga
county, New York. The children of this marriage are Emma, now Mrs. Peter
Strauss, of Bedford township, and Charles, a resident of Marshall township, in
Calhoun County. Mr. White is a Democrat in politics, and has held several
minor offices in his township, among them that of town treasurer for several
years. Mr. and Mrs. White are not members of any church, but incline to that
of the Baptist denomination, — their parents being members of that body.

THOMAS CHISHOLM.

Among the sterling farmers of Calhoun County none stand higher in point of
thrift, skillful management, and just dealing, than did the subject of our brief
review, Thomas Chisholm, in his life-time, spent largely in pioneer times in New
York and Michigan. Born amid the purple bloom of the heather in "bonnie
Scotland," the qualities of unbending integrity and inflexible purpose, the peculiar
characteristics of the natives of the land of Bruce, distinguished Mr. Chisholm
throughout his life of nearly threescore and ten years. He was born in Melrose
on the 5th day of May, 1807, being the first-born child of John and Barbara
(Young) Chisholm. with whom, at the age of ten years, he migrated to Plattsburg,
in the State of New York, where he encountered, and for years endured, the pri-
vations of a pioneer life in the then wilds of that region. Mills were few, and
inaccessible to teams, and Mr. Chisholm and his brothers were obliged to draw
their grists to and from the nearest one, six miles distant, on a hand-sled, often
compelled to stay in the mill over night and make their meals out of parched
corn. Potash-making gave them the only means to get money with, the timber,
with which the land was densely covered, furnishing the raw material wherewith
the same was manufactured by burning.

When Mr. Chisholm was twenty-one years of age, he met and married Miss
Minerva D. Piatt, a niece of Judge Piatt, after whom the city of Plattsburg took
its name. In 1831 , in company with Sidney Ketchum and Randall Hobart and their
families, Mr. Chisholm and his wife, and younger brother, George, came to Calhoun
County and located on what is now included in the site of the city of Marshall,
where, in 1832, a daughter -was born to him, Ellen Minerva, who was the first
white child born in that city. She afterwards married a Mr. Boughton, and is
now deceased. Mr. Chisholm assisted in building the first dwelling and mills in
Marshall, as well as in the county. He entered at the government land office,
in 1831, the land on which he resided until his death. Mrs. Chisholm died in
June, 1838, leaving, beside the daughter before named, the following children
surviving her: James M., Thomas J., and Mary D. On January 22, 1839, Mr
Chisholm took another companion to cheer his pathway, — Miss Mary A. Hewitt,
daughter of Dethic and Louisa (Ainsley) Hewitt, and who was born November
27, 1821, in Pike county, Pennsylvania. They were married in Marengo,
whither Mrs. Chisholm came with her parents in 1836. Around the old fire-
side the following children, fruits of this union, have gathered : Sarah J., now
Mrs. J. W. Bailey, of Chicago, Edwin H., George A., Lucy W., who died when
but six years of age, Emma L., now Mrs. H. M. Evans, of Marengo, and D.
Hewitt Chisholm, at present on the old homestead with his mother. The other
sons, by both marriages, all live within a half-hour's ride of the parental roof, on
good farms of their own, and amid their own families. Mr. Chisholm was
throughout his whole life, from his majority until his death, a stanch and con-
sistent Democrat in politics, casting his first presidential vote for General Jackson
in 1828. He was supervisor of Marengo for several years, but never sought
political preferment, yet was ready to discharge any duty for the people they
thought proper to charge him with the performance of. His elegant and commo-

132

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

dious farm dwelling and barns were all built by his own exertions and those of his
sons, who, with himself, brought the original forest which was once the old home
into its present state of high culture and productiveness. We present our readers
with a fine view of the same, together with portraits of this pioneer couple, in
another part of our work.

Mr. Chisholm, in the closing days of the Centennial year, contracted a severe
cold, which, terminating in congestion of the lungs, closed his life on the morning
of the new year.

In an obituary published in the Marshall Expounder, written by one who knew
him intimately, it is said thus of him : " For nearly forty-six years he has resided
where he died. His life has been like an open book, read by all. He was a
large and successful farmer, and gave substantial aid and encouragement to every
measure calculated to advance the interests of the county. His life has been a
pattern of industry, frugality, and honorable dealing, which, in his case, met its
sure reward in the esteem and warm personal regard of all who knew him, and in
the accumulation of a fine competency. Although firm and decided in his opin-
ions, he readily gave to all the same right he claimed for himself, and lived so
that no one is found who can say aught against him ; his character unsullied, and
his word as good as his oath.''

Mr. Chisholm was for years the subject of deep religious impressions, but,
naturally diffident, he never felt sufficient confidence to make a public profession
of faith.

EDWIN B. CARRIER.

Among the enterprising and successful farmers of Marengo, Edwin B. Carrier
justly takes his place. Actuated in his dealings with his fellows by strict integ-
rity, his success is commendable, and his upright character has gained him the
esteem of his neighbors who know him best, and appreciate him accordingly.
His parents, Burt H. and Emeline (Hanchett) Carrier, were natives of Cayuga
county, New York, Vith whom he migrated to Calhoun County, arriving therein
March 27, 1837, where they located on section 6, in the township of Sheridan,
and where the parents now reside. The father was born May 4, 1807, and the
mother September 12, 1812, and were married September 29, 1830. The chil-
dren of this marriage were Edwin B., the subject of our sketch, who was born
May 13, 1832, in Conquest, Cayuga county ; Oscar M., Alice, now Mrs. Sidney
Thomas, whose husband is a prominent lawyer of Chicago, and Orange A., who
married Martha Macomber, and now lives on the old homestead. Oscar M. was
educated at Olivet, Oberlin, and Yale colleges, graduating among the first in his
class from the latter institution in 1860, and was appointed to the professorship
of languages in Olivet college about one year thereafter, and died the fourth year
of his incumbency, consequent upon his arduous labors and sacrifices for the
institution. The college faculty acknowledge their obligations to him for his
great labors at a time when the fate of the college was balancing between utter
extinction and future usefulness, his services and self-denial being largely the
pivotal point on which the institution turned towards the latter direction. He died
v in Olivet, of softening of the brain, October 31, 1865, leaving a wife, Miss Susie
Lyon, whom he married July 3, 1862. He received the degree of Bachelor of
Arts from Yale.

Edwin B. Carrier was married September 27, 1853, to Cornelia C. Root, of
Cato, New York, a daughter of Ralph and Phebe (Miller) Root, natives of
Massachusetts and New Jersey respectively. She was born November 26, 1831,
in Cato, Cayuga county, New York.

Mr. Carrier received more than an ordinary common school education, having
attended the Marshall Union school and Olivet college for a time. He taught
school for several winters, and also taught several terms of singing schools, and
has been the chorister of the Methodist Protestant church of the Rice Creek set-
tlement for twenty-five years. He bought his present location in Marengo town-
ship in 1853, living thereon ever since. It now includes one hundred and sixty
acres, and a view of his excellent improvements, in the way of dwelling and
barns, and neat and tasteful grounds, is seen on another page. In politics, Mr.
Carrier is a Republican, and he has been a member of the Methodist Protestant
church since he was ten years old, and the superintendent of its Sunday-school for
nearly or quite twenty years, all told. His children have been as follows : Lester
R., who died in infancy; Ella M., Wilbur 0., Sarah A., Merton R., and Ettie.

Mr. Carrier has filled several offices of trust in the township, being elected
thereto without solicitation on his part.

Mr. Carrier's mother died, after a long illness, in Sheridan, on the old home-
stead, May 26, 1877.

CALEB HANCHETT.

Among the worthy citizens of Calhoun County, Caleb Hanchett, of Marengo
township, holds an honorable position. He is a native of Brutus, Cayuga county,
State of New York, where he was born, May 18, 1810. His father, David Han-
chett, was a native of Hartford, Connecticut, and his mother, Diantha Rood, was
born in the State of New York. His father's business was farming, and Caleb
remained at home, assisting in the labors on the farm, until he attained his ma-
jority, gaining a common school education in the mean time at the district schools
of his township. When Mr. Hanchett was about twenty-one years of age, he
was united in marriage to Esther, a daughter of Daniel Miller, of Brutus, on the
24th day of February, 1831. She was born in Brutus on the 10th day of
March, 1813. The young couple immediately commenced life for themselves,
Mr. Hanchett following the business of his father. In April, 1836, Mr. Han-
chett came to Calhoun County in search of a new home, and bought a tract
of land on sections 35 and 36, township 1 south, range 5 west, now known as
the township of Lee. In June, 1837, on the 20th day of that month, his
family arrived at that location, but which latter he exchanged for his present one
in Marengo, on section 1, and removed to it in November, 1838, on which he has
ever since resided, with the exception of a few months' residence in the city of
Marshall, where, after the lapse of nearly forty years, are now seen a comfortable
brick dwelling and ample barns, surrounded by finely-tilled fields, the original oak
openings spread before the eyes of the new settlers, out of which they were to
carve their farm and make their home. In this home Mr. and Mrs. Hanchett are
now enjoying well-earned repose and comfort, after the burden and heat of the
day has been faithfully borne for more than a generation.

Around their hospitable fireside have gathered seven children : Mehitable, now
Mrs. W. W. Bentley, of Marengo ; Phebe J., now Mrs. H. E. Dunham, of Ober-
lin, Ohio ; Norman DeWitt, of Grand Rapids ; Elvira Octavia, Mrs. C. A. Ma-
gee, of Calhoun County ; Walter C, who died in infancy; Janet Izora, now Mrs.
Montgomery Crossman, of Marshall ; and Esther Maria, the wife of W. P. Slay-
ton, deputy sheriff of Calhoun County, and who reside in the old homestead with
the aged and honored parents of Mrs. Slayton.

Mr. Hanchett, in politics, has ever acted with the Whig and Republican parties,
and for seventeen years was the postmaster of the township of Marengo continu-
ously, notwithstanding the changes of administrations which intervened. He has
held the office of justice of the peace in his town for seven years.

Mr. and Mrs. Hanchett have been members of the Methodist Protestant, now
known as the Methodist church, for forty years, and have been zealous and effi-
cient members of that society in Marengo since its organization, Mr. Hanchett
having been a trustee of that church for twenty-five years. He has been most
liberal in his support of the preaching of the gospel, and aided the building of
the church very generously.

LEWIS TOWNSEND.

Among the successful farmers of Calhoun County, Lewis Townsend takes justly
his place. He was born in Monroe county, State of New York, of which State
his parents were natives, October 19, 1817, and removed to the territory of
Michigan in the year 1831, when it was to a great extent an unbroken wilderness.
The family located in Washtenaw county, near Ypsilanti, on what was called the
" Ridge" road, between the latter place and Plymouth. When Lewis was sixteen
years old his father gave him his time as an equivalent for his (Lewis') portion
of the paternal estate. The first venture the boy-man made was to engage to
work for a year at farming for ten dollars per month, but the employer cheated
him out of one-half of his wages. In 1836 he took his axe on his shoulder, and
with all of his worldly possessions beside, tied up in a handkerchief, traveled on
foot to Grand Rapids, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles, and went
to work. He cut one hundred and fifty cords of wood on the site of the present
business portion of that city, staying about fifteen months, and saving about four
hundred dollars. He then returned to Washtenaw county, and bought twenty-
five acres of land in Superior township, and began life in earnest by marrying
Maria Trumbull, July 7, 1838. IJer parents were also natives of New York.
In 1851, Mr. Townsend sold out in Washtenaw, and bought four hundred and
forty acres in the township of Marengo, near his present residence. He has since
then added to his original purchase the present homestead, and also a farm on
which his daughter, Mrs. Viletta Barhite, resides. He is now reported to be
among the wealthiest farmers in the county, the result of steady, persevering effort
on his own part and that of his worthy helpmeet.

The following children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Townsend :

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

133

Yiletta T., born June 15, 1839 ; Miles, July 9, 1841 ; Jerome B., December 30,
1842 ; Eveline, May 30, 1844 ; Myron, June 4, 1846 ; Owen L., May 30, 1858.
Eveline died in infancy, and Myron wben he was nineteen years old and over.
Viletta T., Miles, and Jerome are married, and well situated in the county, and
Owen lives at home. Mr. Townsend has one sister, Rebecca Watson, residing near
the first location of the family in Washtenaw county, and a brother, George W.
Townsend, who is in the Methodist ministry. Mr. Townsend, in his party fealty,
is a Republican, to which organization he has been attached since its organization.
He has been elected supervisor of Marengo eleven times, and was the enrolling and
enlisting officer of the township during the entire war of the Rebellion, in which
position he was prompt and efficient, spending much time and money to fill the
quotas of the township under the several calls of the government for troops. He
evinced his faith in the government in subscribing liberally for the first issue of
its bonds, at a time when many felt it would be a poor investment, and was jeered
at by some of his fellow-citizens for so doing, but who subsequently made invest-
ments in the same securities. He is a Protestant in religious belief. His son,
Jerome, was two years in the army of the Union during the Rebellion.

In 1844, Mr. and Mrs. Crossman united with the Methodist Episcopal church
of Marengo, and have been active and influential members of the same to the
present time.

LUTHER -G. CROSSMAN.

Among the earliest settlers in Calhoun County was Luther George Cross-
man, a native of Deerfield, Oneida county, State of New York. His parents,
Nathaniel and Mercy (Pratt) Crossman, were natives of Taunton, Massachusetts,
from whence they removed to Deerfield prior to 1807. The senior Crossman was
a carpenter by trade, but followed farming as a business in Deerfield. The sub-
ject of our sketch was born February 10, 1808, and after arriving at a suitable
age assisted his father on the farm until he was nineteen years of age, when he
turned his attention to his father's trade, and acquired a practical knowledge of
the same, which he followed summers, employing his time in the winter seasons
in teaching in the district schools of his neighborhood until February, 1832, at
which time he came to Calhoun County, and bought his present farm in Marengo
township. He, however, did not settle on it until 1837, working at his trade in
the mean time, and making several trips back and forth between Calhoun and his
native place.

On the 19th day of April, 1837, Mr. Crossman was united in marriage to
Amanda M., a daughter of Eseck and Lucy (White) Burlingame, natives of
Rhode Island and Massachusetts respectively. Mrs. Crossman was born in Gov-
erneur, St. Lawrence county, New York, July 15, 1818, and with her parents
removed to Herkimer county, where they resided till she was nine years old,
when the family removed to West Bloomfield, Ontario county, in the same State,
where she was married. Her grandfather Burlingame was a Revolutionary soldier,
and was one of the party who surprised and captured the British General Prescott
at Newport.

In October, 1838, Mr. and Mrs. Crossman removed to their home in the
woods, and began life in earnest. For nearly forty years they have toiled and
brought their wild, unbroken, uncleared land up to a finely-cultivated, productive
farm, with comfortable barns and a convenient dwelling thereon, where they are
now enjoying the fruits of their honest and well-directed efforts. Around their
fireside children have gathered, some of whom have gone out therefrom to homes
of their own, some live quietly in the sunshine of the old homestead, and some
have gone forward to that land where shadows never come.

Their first-born, John Sidney, died in infancy. Their second, George Harvey,
remains at the home where he was born. Next to him, a little bud, a daughter,
unfolded and faded almost at the same time. Montgomery, the fourth child,
now lives in Marshall, and is the superintendent of the Marshall Wind-Engine
Company, he being the inventor and patentee of the article manufactured. Caro-
line died when she was five years of age. Florence, now Mrs. H. H. Clute, re-
sides in the township of Lee, in Calhoun County, and Helen, Mrs. Garry Blake,
in Marengo. Julia M. and Eva, both graduates of the Marshall high school, and
the former a teacher, make their home under the old roof where they first saw
the light, and by their accomplishments and tenderness add no little to the happi-
ness of this pioneer household.

Mrs. Crossman is a woman of intelligence, and has transmitted to her children
her own traits of excellence. Mr. Crossman has been a useful citizen in Calhoun
County, and is highly esteemed by all who know him. He aided in the erection
of the first frame barn and dwelling built in the county, in 1832, the same belong-
ing to John Bertram.

Mr. Crossman was formerly a member of the Whig party, and cast his first
presidential vote for Henry Clay ; and, on the rise of the Republican party, asso-
ciated himself with that organization, and is still an ardent supporter of the
same.

SAMUEL CHAPIN,

the subject of this sketch, was born in the town of Springwater, Livingston
county, State of New York, June 7, 1819. His father, Samuel Chapin, was a
native of Long Island, and his mother, Elizabeth (Setson) Chapin, was born in
Dutchess county, New York. Samuel Chapin, Sr., came to Michigan in May,
1834, and purchased a farm of eighty acres in the town of Sylvan, Washtenaw
county, to which he removed his family in September of the same year. It was
a wild country then ; the woods were filled with wild game of all varieties common
to the country, and the nearest neighbor, as late as the following summer, was
seven miles distant, a log cabin being put up then by a man who had just come
in, fourteen persons, young and old, being gathered together to roll up the logs.
In 1837, Mr. Chapin exchanged his eighty acres in Washtenaw for one hundred
and sixty at Marengo, Calhoun County, to which he and the subject of our
sketch came on the 5th of July, the same year. On the 6th they yoked up two
pairs of oxen to a breaking-plow, and began plowing ; the grass being so thick
and rank a log could not be seen until it was under the beam, when it would have
to be pulled out of the way before further progress could be made. The first half-
day was spent in getting a furrow around six acres, when the boy of eighteen
took the team alone, and the father went to clearing the fallen timber out of the
way, and in this way succeeded in getting thirteen acres cleared. Harvesting
now coming on, the younger Chapin worked for Robert Houston, during the
season, for one dollar per day and board, after which the ground already plowed
on their own land was prepared and sowed, and a log house built by the father
and son, into which the family moved in October. The younger Chapin worked
at home until his majority, and then went to work for himself by the month.
In 1842 the elder Chapin sickened, and died in December, when Samuel, the son,
went back to take care of his mother; but, her health failing, she returned to
Canandaigua, New York, to her relatives, and the farm was leased, and Samuel
continued to work by the month during the summer of 1843. The mother died
in 1850. In the year 1846, November 11, Mr. Chapin was united in marriage
to Mrs. Sophia Bagg, who has borne to him the following-named children :
Edward, Franklin, Margaret, Sophia, now deceased, and Ellen Beach, now at
home. Edward is married, and resides in Marengo. Mr. Chapin is a Republican
in his political afliliations, and in 1858 united with the Presbyterian church of
Marshall, of which he has been for the" past twelve years, and still is, a deacon.
His wife and daughter also are members of the same church. Notwithstanding
his early privations and hardships he has accumulated a handsome property, his
homestead in Marengo now numbering three hundred and eighty-one acres of
highly-cultivated and productive soil, upon which he has erected a commodious
and elegant dwelling, and capacious barns ; a view of which we present to our
readers on another page of our work, together with portraits of himself and his
estimable wife.

MRS. SOPHIA CHAPIN

was the daughter of J. L. Powell, of Trenton, Oneida county, New York, and
was born September 14, 1809. She was married to M. J. Bagg, April 14, 1833,
and removed the same spring, with her husband, to Marengo, Calhoun County,
Michigan, to a location he had purchased the year previously, making the trip in
three weeks in a covered wagon, with her household goods. A primitive log
house was her home, and her furniture such as her pioneer husband made him-
self with his axe. But notwithstanding the forbidding meagreness of her indoor
surroundings, her woman's nature was filled to its utmost with the flower-carpeted
expanse that spread out before her vision whenever she chose to look out of the
single door of her cabin upon the lovely landscape that then formed the field of
view in Calhoun County. In 1833, Judge H. J. Phelps came to Marshall, and
Mrs. Chapin says, to go to his house (the first framed one in the village), a dis-
tance of five miles, and " sit on real bovghten chairs, was a treat indeed." Mr.
Bagg died April 28, 1842, leaving three children, Nancy, Fred, and Edward, and
Mrs. Bagg remained a widow until November 11, 1846, when she remarried,
taking Samuel Chapin for her husband. After trials and sorrows consequent upon
life in a new country, which she has surmounted, she now can look back upon
them and the marvelous changes that have taken place in the grand old county
since she first came to it, a young and hopeful bride, forty-four years ago, and
say, as she does say, the lines have fallen to her in pleasant places, and she has a
goodly - heritage. She is one of the vice-presidents of the Pioneer Society of
Calhoun County, and has rendered us efficient and valuable service in the compila-
tion of our work.

EOKFOED TOWNSHIP.

The township of Eckford, as known on the government surveys, is township
3 south of range 5 west. It is one of the four congressional townships from
which Homer was formed in 1834, and was organized as a separate division of
the county in 1836. It derives its name from a gentleman in England, named
Henry Eckford, who was a much-esteemed friend of Oshea Wilder, the first settler
in the township. Mr. Wilder had met him while traveling in England, and pre-
served his memory by giving his name to a township of land in the beautiful oak
openings of southern Michigan.

Eckford is exclusively an agricultural township, and possesses many superior
advantages for farming purposes. Its soil is everywhere excellent, and, with but
few exceptions, there is no w r aste land. It is well known as being in the front
rank of wheat-raising townships, and its fruit is also equal in quality to any raised
in the county. It never was as heavily timbered as some other townships, and
much of its surface consists of fertile burr oak plains, upon which are found most
excellent farms and fine improvements. The southeastern portion is generally
known as ; ' Cook's prairie," a broad and beautiful plain which lies in the four
townships of Eckford, Albion, Homer, and Clarendon. In the northern and
eastern portions the land is also of much the same appearance, and on the west,
between the Nottawa-seepe and Wilder creeks, the soil and general contour of the
country cannot be surpassed for agricultural purposes. The fact that this was
one of the first townships in the county to attract the attention of settlers to its
superior advantages speaks volumes for it, while its appearance to-day, after forty-
six years of toil expended in its general improvement, is a fitting memorial to the
noble efforts of the pioneers. Everywhere over its surface are seen neat residences
and comfortable out-Buildings; the fields bear testimony to the great care expended
upon them; the schools and churches stand forth prominently to testify to the
moral tone of her citizens, and everything wears a clean, fresh look which is most
gratifying to the beholder. Let the inhabitant of the city, with its smoke and
dust, or the sojourner in the coal-mining regions make a trip to Calhoun County,
and drive over some of her best townships, including Eckford as one of the fore-
most, and he will dream he has suddenly been transported to fairy-land, and his
return to smoke and grime will be none too pleasant for contemplation.

Eckford is well watered by the Nottawa-seepe and Wilder creeks, besides having
numerous never-failing springs. Pure and cold well-water is procured by digging,
not usually to exceed forty feet, and it is generally found at a depth of about
twenty feet. Brace lakes, situated in the northwest part of the township and
extending into Fredonia, are very pretty sheets of water, containing fish in abun-
dance. They originally formed a single lake, but by drainage much of the water
has been drawn off. The east shore of Lower Brace lake is clean and beautiful,
and the road passes close along the beach. The most of the distance around the
lakes, however, is marshy. These lakes were named from Horace Brace, who
settled in the township of Marengo, but whose land extended to the lake-shore.
The original area of the lake was about one and a half by two miles.

The general surface of the township is rolling, and in a few places the land
t was originally quite stony. The stones have been, to a great extent, gathered up
and walls made of them.

The health of the town is generally excellent, owing to the invigorating atmos-
phere, pure water, and absence of malarial propagators in the way of marshes and
decaying vegetable matter. But very few marshes are found in the township,
and they are small and insignificant. The principal one is that along the " Not-
tawa" cre^k. which is a dark and ill-favored stream, with low banks, which are
flooded in high water. This stream is more or less marshy along its entire course.
It crosses the southwest corner of the township and flows thence in a general
westerly course until it finally unites its waters with those of the St. Joseph
river, in St. Joseph county.

Wilder creek is named after Oshea Wilder, and takes its rise in the southeast
part of the township. After making a detour into Albion township, it returns to
Eckford, and, starting in on section 24, passes in a northwesterly direction across
the township, crossing the line into Marengo at the northeast corner of section 5,
finally debouching into the Kalamazoo and flowing westward into Lake Michigan.
Its banks through Eckford are in most places high and free from marsh, and at
Lower Eckford a dam has been constructed across it and its power utilized for
running a saw-mill.
134

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

Lower Eckford. — At this point was made the first settlement in the township.
Oshea Wilder was a native of Massachusetts, coming from the town of Gardner.
For about eight years previous to the date of his emigration to Michigan he had
resided in Rochester, Monroe county, New York. In the fall of the year 1831,
he left that place and came alone to Michigan. During the winter he located all
but the northwest quarter of section 8 in Eckford township, and made all neces-
sary arrangements for the comfort of his family, who came to the place in October,
1832. The family then consisted of his wife and seven children, — six sons and
one daughter, — all of whom came except the oldest son, Daniel, who remained at
Rochester a short time and followed them afterwards. Mr. Wilder secured his
land from the government, and on the northeast quarter of the section built a
large, double house of round tamarack logs, with a huge stick chimney and a
commodious fireplace. This house stood a little southeast of the one now occu-
pied by Philo H. Budlong, on the west side of the creek. Several very fine
springs afforded abundant water, one of them a strong sulphur spring. Mr.
Wilder included in his original purchase several pieces of land not on section 8,
and afterwards owned other lands in the neighborhood.

The next summer after the family came, or in 1833, a frame saw-mill was built,
which stood very nearly on the site of the present one owned by Mr. Budion^.
It contained one upright saw, and was quite an institution at the time. The dam
was of the kind known as a " spar dam," the water running over the centre. It
was constructed about one-fourth of a mile above the mill, and a portion of it is yet
standing, some parts of it having been washed away and replaced by new timbers.

One child, Cornelia, was born in 1834, hers being the first birth in the neigh-
borhood and probably in the township. She died when quite young, and hers
was also the first death in the immediate neighborhood, though not in the town-
ship, that being the decease of the wife of Stephen Powers, who died January
10, 1835, and was buried on the old Elijah Cook farm. Her baptismal name
was Rhoda. f

Two of Mr. Wilder's children are now living, both in Marshall, — William ST.,
in the east part of town, and Sarah A., who is the wife of S. V. R. Lepper. Mr.
Wilder lived on his place until November, 1846, during which month he died,
aged sixty-four years. He served a short time in the war of 1812, but saw no
hard service. He became a surveyor, and after settling in Eckford, spent much
of his time in surveying lands for settlers and speculators. In 1834 he surveyed
a few village lots on the northeast quarter of section 8, and sold them at low
prices to new-comers. The first lot was purchased by Jacob J. Ehle, who was a
shoemaker by trade and of German descent. He erected' the building known as
the "Eckford House," and opened a hotel, the first one ever kept at the place.
When he bought the property one of the considerations was that in case he built
an inn he should keep no bar, consequently the house was as strictly temperate as
the most enthusiastic believer in total abstinence could wish. Mr. Ehle also
worked at his trade, having the first shop of the kind in the township.

Mr. Wilder himself built a blacksmith-shop about the same time he did his saw-
mill, and hired a man named Francis Peck to work in it. In 1835 he also erected
a large building on the east side of the saw-mill, which was used as a wagon-shop
and chair-factory. One of the first wagon-makers who worked here was Charles
Hinkle. The common " Windsor" (wooden) and the rush-bottomed chairs were
made, the person employed to manufacture them being a man by the name of
Ebenezer Avery. He finally left and went to Bellevue, Eaton county, where he
continued the business by himself. After this, the manufacture of chairs at
Lower Eckford was abandoned, and the building was removed to the place now
occupied by Guy Markham.

Mr. Wilder was always a prominent man in the township and county. He held
numerous township offices, and was before the public as the occupant of some
office most of the time after he settled. This was not from constant office-seeking,
but because he was the choice of the people.

" Lower Eckford" is a name adopted through usage by the early settlers in
other parts of the township, who would remark, when they were coming to this
part, that they were " going to Lower Eckford."

Probably as early as 1835 a post-office was established at Lower Eckford, and
Oshea Wilder was appointed first postmaster. He held the office some ten years,

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

135

and was succeeded by his son, William N. Wilder. A few years after the latter
removed from the place the office was abolished, after having been in existence
about twenty years.

A postal route was early established between Marshall and Jonesville, and Eckford
post-office established immediately after. At first the mail was carried on horse-
back. Soon a horse and buggy both were impressed into the service, and finally
a four-horse stage-line was put in operation. The route was extensively traveled,
being a connecting link between two important points destined to become, in the
near future, the thriving and populous towns they now are, and terminal points
for a connecting line of travel between the two great railways, the Michigan Central
and the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern. The days of the rattling stage, with
the notes of its winding horn, the cracking of the driver's whip, and the hurry and
bustle incident to an "arrival" or " departure" or "change," are passed away, and
the distant whistle of the locomotive, and the heavy rumbling of the iron wheels as
they pass swiftly along the far-stretching parallel bands of steel, have taken their
place. The stage-coach was one step in the grand advance of the settlements
and of improvement towards a future which should completely revolutionize the
slow plodding of the emigrant's wagon, and the weary journey of miles upon
miles through mud and mire and over hill and dale, and in its place was exactly
the right thing for the time. The sight of a four-horse couch, with its regular
equipment of boot and saddle, noisy driver, long whip, weary passengers, and
clouds of rolling dust, would carry the observer back to a time thirty years ago,
when such sights were frequent and great notice was taken of them, for they were
novel and interesting through the long years they existed. Now the arrival of
a loaded train creates no excitement, and it whirls away into the distance almost
unheeded. Yet, to return to the old customs would be such a retrograding step
that a full realization of the change would then be felt, and the wonders which
serve us to-day through the researches of master intellects would be seen in their
true light. Truly, this is an age of progression which is accepted as matter-of-fact
and inevitable.

Jeremiah Hinkle came from Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, with his wife and
one child, Sarah, now living in Kansas,- and located at Lower Eckford, purchasing
one hundred and forty acres of land on section 8. Mr. H. and his family
arrived here on the 4th of July, 1835. Mrs. Hinkle speaks of the appearance of
the country at that time as most beautiful. Wild-flowers were blooming every-
where ; the atmosphere was filled with fragrance ; the prairies and groves made a
beautiful mosaic, and Nature seemed to have surpassed herself in her efforts to
render a pleasing effect. The same experience was the lot of all who came at that
season of the year, and Michigan bore a new and different aspect to the idea they
had formed of it before seeing it. All were well pleased with the country, and,
satisfied that they might go very much farther without finding its equal, resolved
to settle here and make themselves homes in this region so exquisitely touched by
the hand of a master. The sight well repaid them for their long and toilsome
journey of so many hundred miles, and " their hearts were filled with thanks-
giving."

Mr. Hinkle built a house of round tamarack logs on his place, and the building
is yet standing, being the front part of the house now occupied by his widow. It
has been sided up, and on the inside lathed and plastered. The family lived for
a while at first in a "saw-mill house" owned by Mr. Wilder, and did not com-
mence to build their dwelling until the spring of 1836. Mr. Hinkle also erected
a blacksmith-shop, and worked at the business a number of years. He had
learned his trade at Germantown, now a suburb of the city of Philadelphia, and
was induced to stay at Lower Eckford by Mr. Wilder, because of his being a
mechanic. Nine children were born in the family after their settlement, and of
the ten there are eight now living. A daughter, Mary A. Hinkle, died when
small. She was the first one born after her parents came west, the date of her
birth being June 9, 1836. A son, William II. Hinkle, enlisted in Chicago, in the
First Board of Trade (Seventy-second Illinois) regiment, and was killed at Yicksburg,
Mississippi, June 18, 1863. He had that day been promoted to orderly sergeant
Mr. Hinkle himself died October 20, 1874, aged sixty-eight years. When they
first came to the township a road passed across the country in a diagonal direc-
tion, pointing toward Marshall. That road has long been abandoned 5 , but traces
of it are yet seen. The "Homer road" was laid out about 1837-38, and follows
an old Indian trail.

Deer were exceedingly plenty around the little settlement, and at night the
fierce gray wolf was heard howling forth his savage spite against everything
living. Their noise was terrific at times, and little sleep could be indulged in
while it was kept up. Indians came to the settlement to trade, and killed^ great
numbers of the deer. A bear occasionally came on an exploring expeditioiAnto
the midst of a settlement, seeking for something wherewith to satiate his appetite.
Wild turkeys were so numerous that any person could have a supply of their meat
on hand if he were only a good shot. Altogether, the life of the pioneer families

was fraught with a great deal of excitement and no small amount of danger. Yet
their hardy nature and the freedom of their actions bore them through all safely,
and finally the wilderness was changed into a garden.

The first settler in the township, outside of Lower Eckford, was Henry Cook,
who came to Michigan in the fall of 1831, and lived there during that winter in
Saline, Washtenaw county. In May, 1832, he removed to the beautiful prairie
which has been ever since called " Cook's prairie," and located the farm on section
36, where his sons, John and Theodore Cook, now live. Mr. Cook was born in
Palestine, Montgomery county, New York, February 16, 1788, and afterwards re-
moved to Cayuga county, where he was living at the time he came west. He was
married August 7, 1814, to Maria Mumbrue. When he came to Michigan he
brought his wife and eight children with him, and three children were born after-
wards. Nine of them are yet living.

Anthony Doolittle accompanied Mr. Cook from Washtenaw county, and the two ■•';
purchased four hundred and eighty acres of land from second hands, paying one
dollar eighty-seven and a half cents per acre for it, or an advance of fifty per cent,
from government price. It had been entered during the previous winter by Dr.
Hays, of Marshall. When Mr. Cook brought his family from Washtenaw county
they followed an Indian trail, driving their stock and encamping by the wayside
at night. The last encampment before reaching their new home was on the hill
east of Homer, when the family slept under the wagon-box. Mr. Cook had been
out a short time previous and built a small log house, and the only other house in
this part of the county at that time was one which had been built on the " Penn-
sylvania plains," southeast of Homer, by a man named McMurtrie.

At the first township meeting, held in April, 1834, when this was a part of
Homer, Mr. Cook was moderator, and he also acted in the same capacity the follow-
ing year. He afterward held numerous township offices, and in the fall of 1839
was elected to represent the county in the State legislature. He was for many
years a deacon in the Presbyterian church at Homer. He died September 4,
1874, aged nearly eighty-seven years. His wife died June 15, 1871.

Silas Comstock came from Herkimer county, New York, and settled on section
19 in 1832. He became a prominent man among the settlers, and was always
enterprising and industrious. He was twice married, and finally removed to
Eaton county, where he died. None of his family nor relatives are now living
in Eckford.

Charles K. Palmer came from Rochester, New York, in 1832, and settled on
section 19, on the open plain since known as "Palmer's plains." He built a \o<*
house on the west half of the northwest quarter of the section, and owned alto-
gether one^housand and six acres of land. He was extremely ambitious, and in
his efforts to build up the country he had settled in he finally became heavily in-
volved, and was so unfortunate as to lose all his property. He felt the loss so
deeply that he lost his reason from the effects of it. He was taken in charge by
some parties, who started with him for Connecticut to place him in an asylum.
On the way, while crossing Lake Erie, he took advantage of an opportunity af-
forded him one dark night, and jumping overboard somewhere in the vicinity of
Cleveland was drowned. His body was afterwards washed ashore and recovered
by his friends. He lived but a few years on his place.

About 1832-33, William Herrick settled on the place now owned by Harvey
Clark, on section 13. He located the first tract of land in the neighborhood.
He is now deceased.

Charles Oiin, afterwards one of the associate judges of Calhoun County, located
on the farm now owned by J. W. Pease, section 14, in 1833-34. He built a
house in 1834. Has been dead a good many years.

Edward L. Rogers came from Norwich, New London county, Connecticut,
and on the 11th of May, 1826, arrived at a place four miles from Ypsilanti,
Washtenaw county, Michigan. He lived in that county until October, 1833,
when he came to Calhoun and purchased two hundred and twenty acres of gov-
ernment land, and two hundred acres more of his cousin, Elisha Rogers, who
lived in Connecticut. Mr. Rogers cleared up three hundred acres of his land,
and lived on the place thirty years. He came from Washtenaw county with
his wife and one son, Edward, who now lives in Marshall, and was born in said
county in 1830. One son was born in 1836, and died when but eighteen years
of age. These were the only children of Mr. Rogers. The land on which he
settled was on the fertile "Palmer's plain," and was one of the best farms in the
township. It was located on sections 19 and 20, and he was the first settler
upon it. His house stood on section 19, and was built of round burr-oak logs,
hewed or "faced" on the inside. This house he occupied the entire time he
lived on the farm. A wing was added to it, preparatory to building a large
frame house, but he left before completing that. He now lives in Marshall.
The last twenty years he lived on his farm he raised one hundred acres of wheat
each year, and the last season before he left he raised one hundred and twenty
acres. He was elected three successive terms to the office of justice of the peace,

136

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

the first time in 1840, and was also assessor and school inspector a number of
years. When he first came to Washtenaw county there were only about thirty
families within its limits, the first ones having come in during the year 1824. It
soon began rapidly to fill up, and when Mr. Rogers left it there was a considera-
ble population within its borders.

Calvin Rogers* came from Orleans county, New York, and settled in Claren-
don township in the spring of 1833, and removed to Eckford about 1851 or 1852.
His son, Luther Rogers, came to the farm now occupied by him, on section 14,
about 1863. Calvin Rogers died in the fall of 1853, aged fifty years, and his
wife died in 1858, aged about fifty-three years.

Daniel Dunakin came from Clarkson, Monroe county, New York, in 1834, and
settled on the farm where his family now lives, on section 25, where he took up
eighty acres of government land. He brought his wife with him. She was a
daughter of Elijah Cook, who came with them, and went back after his family
the next spring (1835). Mr. Dunakin became a much-respected and prominent
personage among the citizens of the township. He was supervisor for several
years, and in 1856 was elected to the legislature. While in that body he used
his influence and got a bill passed giving a charter to the " Hillsdale college," at
Hillsdale, Michigan. Mr. Dunakin died the 16th of May, 1875, aged sixty-six
years.

Eli T. Chase came from near Brockport, Monroe county, New York, in 1834,
at the same time with Daniel Dunakin and Elijah Cook, and located on an eighty-
acre lot adjoining Dunakin's land on the south, also on section 25. Mr. Chase
has never voted outside of the township since he came to it. In September, 1837,
he was married to Margaret A. Whitcomb, by whom he has had nine children,
of whom six are now living. Mr. Chase was an officer in the militia company
which was raised in the neighborhood during the famous " Toledo war." Daniel
Dunakin was captain of the company. The troops went to Marshall at the time
the Indians were removed from the vicinity, and that was about the last of their
training.

Medad Bordwell was born in Shelburne, Massachusetts. In 1834 he came
from Madison county, New York, where he was then living, and located two hun-
dred and forty acres of government land, on sections 14 and 23, in Eckford. In
May, 1835, he brought his family — consisting of his wife and eight children — to
their new home, and lived upon it till June, 1865, when he died, having reached
the age of seventy-five years. His wife died several years previous to that date.
Four of Mr. BordwelFs children are now living— one son in Oregon, a daughter
in Lansing, Michigan ; another son, who is a Congregational minister, in Iowa ;
and another son, D. B. Bordwell, in Marshall, Michigan. The latter owns the old
homestead in Eckford. When Medad Bordwell started from New York with his
family, they were accompanied by several other families who were also coming
west. Together they chartered a canal-boat on the Erie canal, and towed it to
Buffalo with their own horses. From Buffalo to Detroit they came by water, and
Mr. Bordwell — the only one of the number who came with his family to Eckford
— here bought a yoke of oxen, and came through from Detroit to Eckford with
them, — the trip occupying eight days, on account of terribly bad roads. A house
was built of round logs, on section 14, and was eighteen by twenty-four feet in
dimensions. This was occupied until 1841, when the frame house now standing
was put up. The farm is in the midst of a beautiful and highly fertile plain.

Elijah Cook was born July 17, 1793, in Oneida county, New York. Some
years later he removed to Clarkson, Monroe county, where he married Miss Cath-
arine Roatruck. After coming to Michigan, in 1834, with Eli T. Chase and
Daniel Dunakin, he returned to New York, and in the spring of 1835 came
back with his family and settled on section 35. He afterwards purchased one
hundred and sixty acres on section 36. He lived on his place until his death,
which occurred January 31, 1872, when he was nearly seventy-nine years of age.
For a long time he had been a member of the Masonic lodge at Homer, and was
also a member of the Free-Will Baptist church. Resolutions of sorrow at his
death were passed by the quarterly meeting of that society, and also by the lodge
of Masons to which he belonged. When he came through from New York with
his family he drove through Canada with a span of horses. He raised eight
children, of whom six are now living, — two sons and four daughters. In 1843,
Mr. Cook was licensed to preach, and in 1845 he was publicly ordained as a min-
ister of the gospel. One of his sons, Henry R. Cook, is living on section 2, in
Clarendon township.

In the fall of 1835 Seth Rogers came from Cattaraugus county, New York,
and located on the north half of the southwest quarter of section 23, the farm
now owned by Q. Kingsland. Mr. Rogers brought his wife and six children with
him, and one child was born afterwards. Four of them are now living — one son,
Luther D. Rogers, and three daughters. Mr. Rogers built a log house on his

* See history of Clarendon township.

place, and carried on his affairs about the same as the settlers did generally.
Grain was put in, and improvements made as fast as possible. Part of his land
was in the white oak openings, and part on lower, timbered ground. He died
about 1856, aged in the neighborhood of seventy years.

Daniel Budlong, Sr., came to the township in 1835, and settled land in the
southeast quarter of section 18, and the southwest quarter of section 17. He
came from Herkimer county, New York, and brought with him his wife, four
sons, and three daughters, all of whom are now living except one son and one
daughter. Mr. Budlong owned two hundred and forty acres of land, which he
divided among his children. His son, Philo H. Budlong, now living at Lower
Eckford, has held numerous prominent offices, represented eight townships of
Calhoun County in the State legislature, and been otherwise connected with the
interests of the township and county. He owns a portion of the old Oshea
Wilder place.

John Harris came from Cortland county, New York, and arrived in Calhoun
County, Michigan, April 21, 1834. On his arrival he settled on section 28, in
Albion township, and lived there till July, 1841, when he removed to the farm
where he now lives, on section 15, in Eckford. This place was originally settled
by Benjamin Rogers, who bought an eighty-acre lot and built a small shanty upon
it. When Mr. Harris came to it he finished up the shanty, put a good shingle
roof on it, and made it comfortable enough to live in. There is a fine spring
near the house, which was known far and near among the early settlers. People
were constantly arriving in the country, and many of them stopped for a short
time with Mr. Harris. In those days it was not necessary that the doors should
be bolted and locked, and the shutters tightly fastened, for honesty was written in
the hearts and stamped indelibly on the faces of the settlers. As an instance, the
following will be interesting : Mr. Harris at one time sold some land, for which he
received five hundred dollars in silver. He placed the money in a tin pan and set
it away in the garret, and left it there. He went away from the house afterwards
and was gone all day. When he returned he found somebody had been there in
his absence, but the only thing touched was a tin cup, which had been used to
drink from and set back in a different position. Nothing else was disturbed.

When Mr. Harris came from New York, he was accompanied by his wife and
two children, and his brother, sister, and mother. He is the only one left of them
all, and is now seventy-one years of age. He was one of the first board of town-
ship officers in Albion, and held the office of justice of the peace. He says he
built a log house on the place upon which he settled in Albion, and very soon
after began " shaking with the ague." Indians were strolling around numerously,
and one morning he awoke and saw one sitting at a fire he had built, warming
himself. He had entered quietly and without disturbing Mr. Harris, and was
simply enjoying the benefit of a warm fire, which he probably supposed he was
as much entitled to as any one. The Indians belonged to the Pottawatomie
tribe, and could be seen riding by every day. Mr. Harris tells of the first Indian
he saw as being a one-legged man, very drunk, and exceedingly anxious to treat
him (Harris). He carried a full supply of " fire-water," having his rifle-barrel,
powder-horn, and a fresh bladder full ! Mr. Harris speaks of seeing twenty-one
deer cross the road southeast of his house in Eckford, one after another. The
settlers depended to some extent on their rifles, and for many years they were
abundantly able to supply their tables with fresh meat. " Massasaugers," or black
rattlesnakes, were exceedingly numerous, and these spiteful reptiles are by no
means extinct at the present day. The larger variety or the great banded rattle-
snake was seldom seen. Around the marshes the black-snake and the terror-
creating (though harmless) " blue racer" were found, and the traveler around their
borders may still find numbers of them should he choose to search.

David Patterson came from the town of Richmond, Ontario county, New York
in company with his father (Abraham D. Patterson) and mother, his sister, then
but ten years old, and his wife, and in October, 1835, arrived in Albion township.
They came as far as Detroit by water, and landed there on the 18th of October.
From there they came through with a team of horses and a yoke of oxen. The
roads were in such a condition that it occasionally became necessary to hitch both
teams to one wagon in order to pull it out of a mud-hole or slough. They
walked the greater part of the distance from Detroit, and were a week on the
road. They located on section 36, in Albion, and lived there until June, 1837,
when David Patterson and his wife moved into Eckford and located on section
24, on a part of the farm he now owns. He purchased part of the place he
occupies from the government, and the rest from second hands. Harvey Foot
and Jacob Rosecrans had previously entered a portion of it. Foot had made
some improvements, built a small frame house, dug a well, etc. After David
Patterson sold his property in Albion township and came to Eckford, he built a
log house similar to the one he and his father had built on the original place in
Albion. He lived with his family in this dwelling for about fifteen years. Abra-
ham D. Patterson died in February, 1864, aged nearly eighty-six years. His

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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

137

wife died in 1857, at the age of seventy-seven. David Patterson is the father of
four children, three sons and one daughter, all living except the first-born.

Lionell Udell settled in the spring of 1835, on the farm now owned by Joseph
G. Henshaw and C. E. Barrow, in section 24. It had been purchased for him in
1834, by Elijah Cook. Mr. Udell was from Clarkson, Monroe county, New York,
and was accompanied by his wife and seven children, four sons and three daughters.
He lived on the farm until Febuary, 1854, at which time he died, aged about
seventy years. His wife died afterwards, in Marshall. His sons sold the property
after his death and removed from the township. One son, John, died in Marshall
in the fall of 1875.

George H. Smith, now living in Eckford, where he has resided only since 1874,
came from Hadley, Massachusetts, and located in Marshall in 1837. His wife
came with him, and about 1839, his first child, a daughter, Lorenza, was born.

In politics Mr. Smith is a strong Republican, a firm supporter of the rights of
the country, and an immovable believer in " Union, now and forever."

Jacob Miller came from Lehigh county, Pennsylvania, and settled on the 20th
of November, 1836, on the farm now partly owned by his son, Samuel Miller,
near Lower Eckford. They were forty days on the road, and came the entire dis-
tance with teams. They had been calculating to take the boat at Cleveland and
come from there to Detroit by water, but on their arrival at the former city the
lake was so rough they were fearful to attempt the voyage, and concluded to push
on with their teams. They had one single buggy and a " big wagon," drawn by
three horses. Mr. Miller was accompanied by a family of six children, three sons
and three daughters, one of the latter married at the time. She settled afterwards
in Branch county. The oldest daughter came about eight years after the settle-
ment was made. Four of the children are now living. The sons were named
Samuel, William, and Jonathan, and Samuel and William are yet living on fine
farms in the township, the former on section 9, and the latter on section 10.
When Mr. Miller first came he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of govern-
ment land, at the regulation price of ten shillings ($1.25) per acre. This included
the west half of the northeast quarter and the east half of the northwest quarter
of section 9. He afterwards purchased forty acres additional.

John Lusk came from Ontario county, New York, with his wife and ten chil-
dren, — six sons and four daughters, some of them married, — in the fall of 1836.
Part of them settled in Marengo township, and part in Eckford. Mr. Lusk him-
self settled in Marengo, on a farm now owned by H. J. Perrin, of Marshall. He
afterwards removed to Eckford township and lived in it about three years, when he
went back to Marengo, and lived in that township until March, 1874, when he
died, at the age of eighty-six years. Four of the sons, Augustus, John, Jr.,
Thomas, and Frederick, located in Eckford when they first came. Thomas located
on the northwest quarter of section 1, on the place at present owned by G. W.
Hill. He built a frame house on the place in 1837. He had lived one year
previously with his brother Frederick, with whom he owned the quarter-section
in company. Frederick Lusk was married before leaving New York, and died a
few years after coming to Michigan. In the spring of probably 1843, Thomas
Lusk removed to the place where he now lives, the west half of the northwest
quarter of section 11. With the exception of three years, the members of the
Lusk family have lived within two hours' drive of each other. Eight of the chil-
dren are now living, all but one in Calhoun County, and Eckford and Marengo
townships. One lives at Grass lake, Jackson county. Augustus Lusk and his
brother John, Jr., settled on the southeast quarter of section 11. The latter died
early in May, 1873. John Lusk, Sr., served in the war of 1812, and was taken
prisoner by the British, at Black Rock, in 1814, and taken to Montreal, where he
was kept four months. His gun was thrown into the Niagara river. The farms
owned by the Lusks are among the best in the township, and are all finely im-
proved.

A. C. Robinson came from the old township of Peru, Clinton county, New
York, in 1836, and arrived in Marshall the last week in May of that year. He
was accompanied by his wife and two children, and his father, George Robinson.
They lived in Marshall until 1855, when A. C. Robinson removed to the farm
upon which he now resides, section 22, and has lived on it since. He purchased
the land of Charles Jaggar, now of Marshall. Mr. Jaggar's father, living on Long
Island, New York, bought this farm for his son Charles, and another tract in the
township for his son Augustus. Charles Jaggar lived on his farm ten or fifteen
years before it became the property of Mr. Robinson.

Some time during the year 1838 Joel B. Marsh came from Ontario county,
New York, and built a house and made other improvements on section 4, on the
farm now belonging to the estate of P. Hinebauch. • Mr. Marsh had but recently
been married, and his wife came with him. His first house was built of hewn
logs, and stood immediately in front of the site of the present frame dwelling.
Mr. Marsh bought about five hundred acres of land in the neighborhood before
he settled. He raised a family of six children,
18

-four sons and two daughters,-

of whom three are yet living. He held numerous township offices, and was a
member of the board of supervisors. With the exception of the time necessa-
rily spent in his official duties, he lived on his farm the greater portion of it, after
he settled, and devoted it to agricultural pursuits. He died in 1850, from the
effects of a fall from the roof of his barn. He was a man much esteemed by his
townsmen, and his loss was deeply felt.

Samuel Freed came with his wife from Allentown, Lehigh county, Pennsyl-
vania, in 1838, and settled two hundred and forty acres of land, mostly on sec-
tion 6. He was an old man when he came, and lived on his place until his death,
which occurred in 1858. His son, John W. Freed, came from the same county
in 1840, with his wife and six children. Five children were born in the family
afterwards, and of the eleven there are six now living. Mr. Freed located on the
same place with his father, and afterwards purchased considerable land in the -
vicinity. He lived until June, 1873, when he died at the age of seventy-three
years.

Among other settlers were E. W. Robinson, G. F. White, William S. Harris,
E. H. Cook, John Skinner, Guy Markham, G. R. McKay, and Elisha Gilbert.
The latter settled on section 20 in 1835, and owned two hundred and forty acres
of land. He lived on his place some twenty years and then removed to Marshall,
where he died. He was married to Miss Jeannette Baldwin, a sister of Mrs.
Edward L. Rogers, and a teacher in the early schools. The farm he owned is
now the property of Joseph Shipp, who came to the place just previous to the
breaking out of the Southern Rebellion. Henry Howe, on section 17, is also an
old settler. *

On section 16 a man named Jones was the first settler, and owned forty acres
on the northwest corner, now the property of W. N. Hill. He had a log house
and other improvements on the place. None of the family are left in the neigh-
borhood, most of them being dead, and the rest removed to other places. The
old gentleman himself is yet alive, residing somewhere in Nebraska.

Stephen Burton, Jr., came from Mendon, Monroe county, New York, in the fall
of 1843, and bought land where he now lives. He brought his wife and five
children with him, and settled on the northeast quarter of section 10. A few
acres had been cleared on the place some years before, but when Mr. Burton came
it had grown up to brush. Mr. B.'s father, Stephen Burton, Sr., served in the
war of 1812, and was wounded at Black Rock. He enlisted from Ontario county,
New York, and never came to Michigan to locate. Lyman Burton, son of Stephen
Burton, Jr., served in the Sixth Michigan Volunteer Infantry during the rebel-
lion, and was with General Butler at New Orleans. Mrs. Burton's son, Charles
Gilbert, was in Company K of the First Michigan. Enlisted from Marshall, and
served three years under Sherman.

Abraham Giltner came from Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in 1845, and
settled forty acres where he now lives, it being the northeast quarter of the south-
east quarter of section 16. Brought his wife and six children with him, and
made the first improvements on the place. Three of his children are now living

John Tilford was originally from Washington county, New York, but previous
to the time he came to Michigan had lived in Cayuga county. In the fall of 1845
he and his wife came to this State, and stopped in Detroit, where they stayed until
the following March (1846), when they came to the place which they now occupy,
on section 9. Mr. Tilford purchased eighty acres and became the first settler
upon it. He built a frame house, which is yet standing near his present brick
residence.

William C. Richfield came from Batavia, Genesee county, New York, in 1834,
and in 1844 settled ninety -six acres on section 16 of school land. He afterwards
purchased additional land on section 15. His father, Daniel Richfield, and his
mother came from New York at the same time with him, and for ten years the family
lived in Branch county. Daniel Richfield died in 1864, aged eighty-four years.
His wife is now living, at the extreme age of ninety-eight. The old people were
originally from Brunswick, New Jersey, where they raised all their children, except
William C, who was born in Batavia, New York, to which they removed from
New Jersey. William C. Richfield suffered the loss of his dwelling by fire in
1874, and is now living on a farm northwest of his old place. On the opposite
side of the road Valentine Dean has a tool-handle factory, started within a year
or two.

Joshua Henshaw came with his wife, four sons, and five daughters, from Genesee
county, New York, in October, 1844, and stopped 'first at Ypsilanti, Washtenaw
county, Michigan. Before leaving Genesee county, New York, he had lived in
both Batavia and Darien. In the spring of 1845 he left Ypsilanti and came to
the old Udell farm, on section 24 in Eckford, where Joshua G. Henshaw now
lives. Mr. Udell had divided his farm among his children, and Mr. Henshaw
purchased John Udell's share. One of Mr. Henshaw's sons came some time
afterwards. Four of the children are now living, — three sons and one daughter.

Among the later arrivals in Eckford were Deacon Darius Bickford, his brother,

138

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

James P. Bickford, Esq., and Hon. S. E. Robinson. The latter is an old settler
of Marshall, and has lived in Eckford but a few years. Darius Bickford came in
March, 1858, and lived on section 17. He is now living in Marshall. Was a
deacon in the Presbyterian church. James P. Bickford came to the township
May 16, 1853. Was elected justice of the peace about 1860, and has held the
office a good share of the time since. Has been town clerk since 1S.69. The
Bickfords were from Rochester, Monroe county, New York.

On the first Monday in April, 1834, while Eckford was a part of Homer town-
ship,

TEIE FIRST TOWN-MEETING

was held, at the house of Milton Barney. Henry Cook was moderator of this
meeting, also of the one held the following year. Of the early records of Eckford
nothing can be found, and it is therefore impossible to give the first town officers.
In 1834-35 Charles Olin and William Winterstein were highway commissioners.
In the month of April, 1836, after Eckford township was organized, it was divided
into seven road districts. The first roads were laid out as early as 1834 or 1835.
The first town clerk of Eckford was L. M. Howe. In June, 1836, C. M. Church,
T. J. Walker, and Joseph Otis were highway commissioners.

The first complete record we have found of a township election was in April,
1842, at which the following officers were elected :

Supervisor, Charles Olin ; Town Clerk, Oshea Wilder; Treasurer, Elijah Cook ;
Justice of the Peace, Thomas J. Walker ; Assessors, Edward L. Rogers, John
Whitcomb ; Highway Commissioners, Alfred Arnold, Simeon A. Stone, Benoni
Cutler; Overseers of the Poor, Elijah Cook, B. H. Cutler; School Inspectors, E. L.
Rogers, S. B. Keep, Joel B. Marsh; Constables, John Kennedy, Jonathan Miller,
Elisha H. Cook. The following were appointed overseers of highways : District
No. 1, Joseph Otis; No. 2, Harry Cooley ; No. 3, Jacob Miller; No. 4, Alfred
Arnold ; No. 5, Eli T. Chase ; No. 6, John Kennedy ; No. 7, Daniel B. Eddy ;
No. 8, John Prior ; No. 9, Ashley Harris.

At a special meeting held December 13, 1862, it was voted by the township to
raise by tax the sum of one hundred and seventy-five dollars, to pay to each per-
son who should enlist from it, to the number of sixteen or seventeen, if found
necessary to do so in order to fill the quota. December 31, 1863, it was again
voted to raise three hundred dollars each to pay volunteers, and fill the quota
without drafting. February 27, 1864, a meeting was held, and a bounty of one
hundred dollars voted to each volunteer from the township, to the number of
twelve, if necessary. This was afterward revised so that either a veteran or a
new recruit enlisting from the township at any time during the year 1864 should
be entitled to the bounty.

The officers of Eckford for 1876 were as follows: Supervisor, John Taylor;
Town Clerk, James P. Bickford ; Treasurer, Arzah Robinson ; Justices of the
Peace, Valentine Dean, James P. Bickford, George W. Zimmerman, Joseph G\
Henshaw; Superintendent of Schools, Charles E. Darrow; Commissioner of High-
ways, George W. Zimmerman ; Drain Commissioner, William McPherson ; Con-
stables, William C. Richfield, H. A. Shatzel, Jerome A. Zimmerman, Thomas J.
Shipp.

The township has nearly three hundred voters, and is strongly Republican in
politics. The population is in the neighborhood of thirteen hundred. The town
hall, located in the centre of the tow r nship on land donated by Arzah Robinson
and Robert Sackett, is a substantial frame building, erected in 1870 at a cost of
one thousand dollars. Previous to that time town elections had been held in
school-houses, generally in the old " yellow school-house," on the Homer and
Marshall road, in district No. 1.

SCHOOLS.

Eckford is divided into twelve districts and fractional districts, and contains
nine school buildings. Fractional district No. 4 sends its children to the school
which is located in the main part of the district, in Marengo township, while
those from fractional district No. 1 attend at the brick school-house, which is just
across the line, in Clarendon township, opposite the Free-Will Baptist church.

In district No. 1, a frame school-house was built about 1848, and is still stand-
ing. John Harris was one of the building committee. A man named Smith
built the house, and soon afterwards the California gold-fever of 1849 broke out,
and he made one of the number who were charmed by the stories of untold
wealth which lay hidden in the new El Dorado, and which was said to be found
in nuggets " as big as a brick." This school-house was built partly for church
purposes, the Presbyterians, who at that time had an organization in Eckford,
contributing considerable money in order to have it made larger, and convenient
to hold meetings in. It was painted yellow, and has always been known as the
" yellow school-house." It has been used for a school-house, for church meetings,
town-meetings, lectures, and various other purposes, and, in the language of one
of the old settlers, the site " fairly smokes with goodness."

Probably political matters were not so corrupt in this neighborhood, and the
good influences of the many religious meetings held in it were not overthrown
by tricks of politicians, and the various intrigues of " rings" and office-seekers.

The first school kept in district No. 2 was taught in a frame building erected
for a dwelling, by Joseph Otis. It was purchased by the directors, and moved to
the southeast corner of section 2, where it was used for some time as a school-
house. A young lady named Minerva Prosser was the first teacher in it. This
was about 1839-40.

A school-house was built in the same district in 1841 or 1842, near the spot
now occupied by the frame school-house on the southwest corner of section 2.
This building was made of oak boards, four and five inches in width, laid one
upon the other, and spiked down, with their outer edges even, and the alternate
spaces between them on the inside allowing the wall to be lathed and plastered-
It was clapboarded on the outside, and was a w r arm, comfortable building. The
first teacher in it was Ann Reamer.

In fractional district No. 2, a frame school-house was built about 1840, and
was used until within a few years. A neat brick house now stands on nearly the
same spot, and is the only brick school-house in the township. The early teachers
were generally in every way competent to carry on the schools, and did exceed-
ingly well, although they received small pay.

The first school in the township was taught at Lower Eckford, in district No.
3, in the summer of 1834. There were only six or eight pupils, and they were
taught by William N. Wilder, now living in Marshall. Mr. Wilder was then
quite young, and taught merely for pastime, as he had become temporarily crip-
pled by stepping on a spike and severely injuring one of his feet. This was his
first experience at teaching.

The first school-house in this district was a frame building, erected in 1834 or
1835. The first teacher was a lady, her name now forgotten. The first school-
house built in fractional district No. 3 was the frame building now standing.
It was erected about 1850, and stands on the township line.

A school-house was built on Palmer's plains, in district No. 4, in 1836, on
land donated by Edward L. Rogers. It was a frame building, and was burned
about two years afterwards. Another was erected on the same spot, but finally
torn away and a third one put up, which is now standing. In the first school-
house the first teacher was Miss Jeannette Baldwin, a sister of Mrs. Rogers.
She afterwards married Elisha Gilbert, and is now living in Marshall. Her husband
has been dead several years.

In district No. 5 a frame school-house was built in 1838, the work being done
by a carpenter named Amasa Waters. This house is yet standing, and is the
only one ever erected in the district. It was originally painted red, but has been
considerably repaired, and since painted brown. The first teacher in it was Miss
Minerva Prosser, the same who afterwards taught the first school in district No. 2,
and also taught in other places. She was a fine teacher, and was much esteemed
by all. She came to Eckford the spring previous to the time she taught in dis-
trict No. 5. She was a sister of the first wife of John Udell. Before the school-
house was built, Mrs. Udell (Miss Prosser's sister) taught a select school in the
cabin where they lived, and it was attended principally by grown pupils. This
was in the winter of 1836-37. Mrs. Udell was also a very competent teacher,
and both she and her sister were well educated.

The first school-house in district No. 6 was built after the one in No. 5, and
stood on the northeast corner of the Vroman farm. It was a frame building, and
was afterwards removed, the district having been changed. The present building
stands on the farm of Gr. W. Hayes, on section 26.

In district No. 7 the first school-house was probably built much later, as this
is mostly a timbered district yet, and but thinly settled.

CHURCHES.

The second religious society in the township was organized by the Presbyterians,
July 1, 1839, at the house of Edward L. Rogers, with about ten members, which
increased to twenty within a few days. Rev. Dr. Cleveland, of Marshall, and
Rev. Elias Child, of Albion, organized the church. Rev. Mr. Johnson, a student
under Mr. Cleveland, and at that time not ordained, gave them half his time for
one year, and was their first pastor. The first elders were Edward L. Rogers and
William C. Pringle ; the latter was also deacon. Medad Bordwell was soon after
elected elder and deacon. The first sermon preached in Eckford by a Presbyte-
rian minister was by Rev. Calvin Clark, now residing in Marshall, who was then
a missionary preacher, having his field of labor over the entire State. He occa-
sionally preached for this congregation after it was organized.

The second pastor was Rev. Mr. Mason, then living in Marshall. He was a
man about sixty years of age, and preached for them three years and a half.
Following him came Revs. Lewis Mill, three years ; Justin Marsh, three (possi-
bly four) years ; Samuel Sessions, three years ; Hosea Kittredge, three years j

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

139

James Walker, four years; Mr. McCreary, from New York, about a year ; Mr.
Shope, two years ; Calvin Clark, one year ; Mr. Fancher, of Homer, one year ;
James Donaldson, two years. The church is now without a regular pastor, and
the congregation is few in numbers. Edward L. Rogers was sessions clerk for
over twenty years, and in 1863 left and came to Marshall. When he parted from
the congregation there were seventy-five members, while at present there are only
about thirty-five. This church has been one of the most influential in the county.
Many of the older members have moted away or deceased, and in that way the
congregation has been greatly reduced. The first meetings were held at the
" yellow school-house." The present neat frame church was built in 1868, and
is surmounted with a spire. It is thirty-six by sixty feet in dimensions, and will
seat about three hundred persons. For a long time the congregation possessed a
very fine choir, but many of the members are gone. At present an organ is
used. The Methodists occupy the church a portion of the time. A Presbyterian
Sabbath-school was organized early, and with a large number of members was
kept in a flourishing condition until recently. Its first superintendent was Charles
Bordwell, who held the position until his death, which occurred in September,
1864. He was a man much respected by those who knew him. The Sabbath-
school had at one time a very good library of over a hundred volumes. The
church stands on the northeast corner of section 15, on rising ground, command-
ing a fine view of the beautiful plain to the south and east, and showing promi-
nently from a distance.

The oldest church organization in the township is that of the Free-Will Bap-
tists, which was organized by Elder Samuel Whitcomb, in the fall of 1835. Mr.
Whitcomb became its first pastor, and had charge a number of years. The other
original officers of the congregation were Elijah Cook, clerk, and Chester Smith,
•deacon. The latter afterwards went away with the Mormons. John Blake, of
Clarendon, was one of the early deacons. Elder H. S. Limbocker followed Mr.
Whitcomb as second pastor, and also stayed a number of years. The third regular
pastor was Elder Cyrus Coltran. Elder John Thomas preached occasionally, but
was never installed as pastor. The fourth pastor was Elder Daniel M. Graham,
a graduate of the college at Oberlin, Ohio, and principal of the Michigan Central
college, at Spring Arbor, Michigan. After him came Elder Horace Wellington,
who stayed a year or two. Elder Schuyler Aldrich came next, and preached ten
winters. After him the pastors were Elders F. P. Auger, who stayed about two
and a half years, during which time the church was built ; 0. D. Auger, one
year and a half; G. B. Holt, three years ; John Ashley, six years ; A. W. Ensign,
two years ; A. J. Marshall, a year and a half; John S. Copp; and G. H. Chap-
pell, who is the present pastor.

The church is a neat and substantial frame building, surmounted with a spire,
and cost, when buiit, about twenty-two hundred dollars. By using the gallery it
will seat about four hundred people.

Some time before the church was built, a Sabbath-school was started and kept
up part of the time. Since the erection of the church it has been held regularly.
It is not strictly a sectarian school, but is made up of all denominations, although
under the control of the Free-Will Baptist society. H. B. Cook was probably
the first superintendent, when meetings were held in the school-house, before the

church was built. The present superintendent is Charles E. Darrow. At one
time the school was possessed of a library, but the volumes were donated to poorer
societies "in the north woods" of the State, and at present Sunday-school papers
are used instead of books. The first Sabbath-school in the neighborhood was
organized by the Methodists.

A Methodist Episcopal class was organized in 1839, which consisted of a small
number of persons, among them probably William Herrick, Merines Brown, and
others. Until 1855 no regular meetings were held, but about that time the con-
gregation began to have preaching in the Olin district, and afterwards in the
u yellow school-house." The first trustees were elected at a conference held at
Burlington, March 11, 1865, for the Tekonsha circuit, and were as follows : N. L.
Brockway, president ; Horace J. Smith, secretary ; Arzah C. Bobinson, Daniel
Budlong, John Skinner, William N. Hill, Bobert Sackett, John C. Bichfield,
John Bogers. One of the early leaders was John Skinner. Bobert Sackett was
appointed leader about 1855-56. September 15, 1865, a piece of land contain-
ing one hundred and five rods was purchased of Darius Bickford and wife, and
the fine frame church now standing built upon it. The building was completed
and dedicated in the spring of 1837. It has a tasty spire, and stands on a beau-
tiful spot on section 17. The class was first on the Burlington circuit, then on
the Tekonsha circuit, and is now an appointment on the Marengo circuit, at
present under the charge of Bev. Mr. Young. A portion of the time the con-
gregation holds its meetings in the building belonging to the Presbyterian society.

The Evangelical church was organized about 1860-62* by the Albright
Methodists. Its first pastor was Bev. Joseph Fisher. The church organized
with between thirty and forty members, and now has a membership of about
sixty. The second pastor was Bev. Mr. Nieklawa, and he was followed by Bevs.
Michael Miller, James Shireman, Samuel Copley, and Mr. Kimmerling, who is
the present pastor and resides at Ceresco. The frame church now standing was
built about 1863-64.f The Albright Methodists had meetings in the township
as early as 1848, and were from Pennsylvania.

A Free Methodist society was organized in the southern part of the township
about 1871-72, and its members are now constructing a frame church on section
33, to cost one thousand dollars. The building-lot is taken from the farm of S.
Dennison.

Eckford has two cemeteries, one on section 17 and the other on section 13, both
of them occupying beautiful sites, and being fitting resting-places for the remains
of those who have passed forever away from among her inhabitants. Each con-
tains the mortal clay which was once the bodies of many of her influential citizens
and early settlers. The cemetery in Clarendon township, opposite the Free-Will
Baptist church, also contains the remains of many of the earlier settlers, among
them the Cooks, Daniel Dunakin, Elder Samuel Whitcomb, and others. The
first burial in this yard was that of the body of Mr. Hayes, father of George W.
Hayes, Esq., of Eckford. Those who lie in the different cemeteries lived long
and useful lives, and now that their troubles are ended and they are no longer
weary, let those who still remain unite in saying, Requiescat in pace !

* Authority of Abraham Giltner.

| By another authority, in 1869.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

DANIEL DUNAKIN.

MRS. DANIEL DUNAKIN.

DANIEL DUNAKIN.

The subject of our sketch was, in his lifetime, one of the most energetic and
enterprising men in the community. Born in Niagara county, New York, April
19, 1810, he removed to Monroe county, in the same State, when but five years
of age, with Mr. Henry Ketcham, with whom he remained in Monroe county
until he attained his majority. He learned the mason's trade, which he followed
until the winter of 1834, when he removed to Calhoun County, Michigan, and
located the farm in the township of Eckford, now occupied by his widow. In
July, 1833, he married Eliza Cook, in Clarkson, Monroe county, New York. By
indomitable energy and perseverance, he cleared up and improved a farm of five
hundred and forty-eight acres, which is one of the finest-improved tracts in Cal-
houn County. He and his estimable wife together reared a comfortable home
upon the old homestead, which, though darkened by the shadow of the Reaper
who comes noiselessly and unbidden, has, nevertheless, been filled with a full share
of life's joys and pleasures. Children came to bless the home with their bright,
gladdening presence, and though their stay around the family hearth-stone was,
in many instances, but a brief one, yet was their coming welcomed with joy.
They were born in Calhoun County, and were as follows : Samuel Edward, died
when six years old ; Myron W., died at two years ; Lotas A., died at five years ;
Daniel D., when an infant; Alice E., at four years; and Albert H., at twenty-
three years. Alma Sophia, now Mrs. Edward Owen, lives near the old farm;
Ada Catharine, now Mrs. Edward Cunningham, lives in Albion township ; and
Mary Frances, unmarried, is attending school at Hillsdale college.

In politics, Mr. Dunakin was a Whig and Republican, and was the supervisor
of his township for several years. He also served one term in the State legislature
in the years 1855-56, and while attending the session proposed the bill and ad-
vocated its passage for the charter of the Hillsdale college, and was largely instru-
mental in procuring its final enrollment as a law. He was a stanch friend of
that institution from its inception till his death ; was one of its directors from its
founding during his life, and even in death did not cease his interest in it, leaving
two thousand dollars of his estate for its benefit. His religious affiliations were
with the Free- Will Baptists. He was of Irish descent, and died May 16, 1875,
loved and respected by a large circle of friends, who highly esteemed him for him-
self, as well as for his work's sake. He built the Marshall House, following his
trade for several years subsequent to his first settlement in the county.
Mrs. Dunakin's parents were Elijah and Catharine (Rotherick) Cook.
140

SOLON E. ROBINSON.

Among the many worthy citizens of Calhoun County, none stand higher in
the estimation of their fellows than does Solon E. Robinson, of Eckford township.
Upright in business, genial in manner, of sound judgment and irreproachable morals,
Mr. Robinson enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens, that is a
constant source of pleasure and satisfaction in his ripened years, when the frosts
of fifty-seven winters have left their impress upon his head, visible in the silver
which crowns it honorably and becomingly. His father, Chauncey Robinson,
who was born in Dunham, Connecticut, December 5, 1794, and emigrated with
his father, Nathan Robinson, therefrom to Sauquoit, Oneida county, New York,
the same year, was a remarkable man. Though a pioneer in the heavily-timbered
regions of western New York, and compelled to endure the arduous toil conse-
quent upon clearing farms in that section of the country, this self-made son of
the soil not only labored all day in the fields, and at the heavy work of the farm
for years, but when nightfall closed the labors of the day he worked ofttimes
far into the night, giving to his fellow-men the benefit of his vigorous mind through
the press of the day. He gave his freshest and most advanced thought to the
people on agriculture, politics, temperance, and religion ; giving his most trenchant
and vigorous blows against slavery. They fell like sledge-hammers upon the cold
iron, and though the sparks sometimes followed, yet, slowly and surely, they as-
sisted to mould public sentiment, and he lived to see his beloved country free from
end to end, and the taint of the gigantic crime wiped clean from the proud es-
cutcheon of the nation. This done, one would think the old veteran would have
rested upon his laurels ; but no rest is for such as he while there is a wrong to be
redressed or a principle to be defended or advanced, and therefore his power was
turned against the twin curse of the republic, intemperance, and his blows fell
unceasingly again, as long as he had strength for the work. In 1812, he was
married to Miss Anna Lewis, daughter of Ebenezer Lewis, of Oneida county,
New York, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, serving in the cavalry.
In 1813 the young couple removed to Clarendon, Orleans county, in the same
State, then designated as the town of Murray, but subsequently divided into eight
townships. He enlisted in the United States service about this time, in the war
of 1812, and received an honorable discharge after the battle of Fort Erie, Sep-
tember 14, 1814, in which he was a participant. In 1823 his wife died, leaving
six small children, and the year following he married Mrs. Damaris Walker, who
bore to him seven other children, having given birth to four by her former hus?-

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

141

band. He removed to Holly, in the same State, in 1852, where he died in 1867.
As a last and most precious legacy, he compiled from his voluminous writings a
selection of his best thoughts on all the varied subjects which he discussed, and
published them in a neat little volume, dedicating it to the seventeen living chil-
dren who had gathered around his fireside in the days gone by. One of his
daughters, now the wife of Andrew Jackson Davis, the Poughkeepsie seer, on
behalf of the children paid the aged father and mother a most graceful, eloquent,
and touching tribute, which forms the preface to the work.

Solon Eckford Robinson, the subject of our sketch, was born in the town of
Clarendon, Orleans county, New York, August 17, 1820. His mother died in
1823, leaving himself and five brothers and sisters, he the fifth child, bereft of a
mother's care. He remained with his father, going to the district school after he
was fourteen years old, from two to three months in the winter, and working' on
the farm in the summer, until he attained his majority. During the year 1839
he attended the Clarkson academy, in Monroe county, New York, and taught
school the winter of that year in Green Centre, in the last-named county. In the
fall of 1841, in company with his father and others, he made a prospecting tour
through portions of Ohio and Michigan, looking for a location for a future home.
His father and one of his companions returned home from Ohio, and he and the
other, Joseph C. Walker, continued their journey on foot, a distance of three
hundred miles or more, through the heavily -timbered regions of the Maumee
and northeastern Indiana, selecting at last twenty acres on sections 28 and 29, in
Tekonsha township, on the river St. Joseph, which he bought of Peter Chisholm,
in October. Mr. Robinson returned home and spent the winters of 1841-42
with his father, and in the spring following bade adieu to his much-loved friends,
and turned his face to his western location, whither he went alone. The first
crop he sowed was forty acres of wheat, doing the plowing, harrowing, and sow-
ing himself, with the aid of a boy eight days and one yoke of oxen ; plowing the
ground twice and harrowing it three times, and completing the work between June
1 and October 8. He worked some time in the harvest of that year, besides, to
pay for his seed. He harvested from this seeding, in 1843, six hundred bushels,
drawing it to market with his oxen to Homer and Marshall. In 1844, before he

was married, he built himself a log house, eighteen by twenty-four feet, and in
1846 set out an orchard of fifty trees. In 1845, January 22, Mr. Robinson was
united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane Granger, daughter of Ithamar Granger, of
Tekonsha, and formerly of Sweden, Monroe county, New York. Mr. Granger
was born in Sheffield, Massachusetts, February 14, 1796, and removed with his
parents to Oswego, Tioga county, New York, when quite young, and was married
in 1817 to Cornelia Westfall, of the latter place. In 1819 he removed to western
Mew York, and settled in Sweden, and in 1841, with his family of seven children,
came to Michigan, locating in Tekonsha, Calhoun County, where he died December
3, 1849. Mrs. Granger was born January 17, 1800. Mrs. Robinson was born
in Sweden, Monroe county, New York, January 29, 1824, and has borne to her
husband five sons, viz., James C, Francis L., Ardwin D., Chauncey, and Velorus C,
James enlisted in the Union ranks in the war of the Rebellion in 1864, when
nineteen years of age, being a member of Company H, Merrill Horse, Captain
George W. Rowell, and received an honorable discharge at the termination of the
war.

In 1854, Mr. Robinson removed to Battle Creek ; in 1866, from thence to Le Roy,
and from thence, in 1867, to his present location in Eckford. In politics, Mr.
Robinson is a Republican, having been connected formerly with the Whig party.
He has held positions of trust and honor in the several townships in which he has
resided, and from 1849 to 1867 was one of the county superintendents of the
poor, and served one term in the State legislature of Michigan, in 1873. In
1855 he united with the Baptist church of Battle Creek, and was soon after
chosen a deacon of the same, which position he held until his removal to Eckford,
and is at present a member of the Baptist church of Marshall. His brother,
Charles J. Robinson, removed to California, being sent there by Secretary Chase
in charge of a large amount of greenbacks. He was a member of the First
Wisconsin Infantry during the war, and afterwards assayer of the mint at Vir-
ginia City, Nevada. He resided twelve years in California, holding the position
of professor of physical culture in the public schools of San Francisco, and,
at the time of his death, March 6, 1877, was deputy clerk and treasurer of the
city of Oakland.

SHERIDAN TOWNSHIP.

The township is situated in the east part of the county. Its designation on
the maps of the old United States survey is " town 2, south ; range 4, west."
Prior to, and at the period of settlement, it was a favorite Indian resort. Game
abounded. Deer were most plentiful, and found rich pasturage upon the grasses,
luxuriantly cropping from the borders of stream and lake. The coward wolf gave
forth his diabolic howl at night, and the bear, like some spy, perched upon a huge
tall tree, surveyed the landscape. Partridge, grouse, and turkeys flew in flocks,
and in the streams were fish, choice and many. In such localities the Pottawato-
mie found a home in consonance with his mode of life, and saw it occupied with
helpless regret by a dominant race. Yet there was friendship and a certain degree
of dependence. To the one his hunter life made the supply of meat easy of access,
and to the other the exchange for other food was made with relish.

GEOGRAPHICAL.

The township is well watered. The Kalamazoo crosses the southwest portion.
Rice creek flows from the east, through the centre to the west, while a branch of
the latter stream, having its source in the lakes of Clarence, flows through the
northwest portion. Hall's lake, near the centre, Winnipeg in the west, Montcalm
in the southwest, and one of the Sister lakes in the northeast, are of the bodies
of fresh water which diversify and beautify the landscape. The surface of Sheri-
dan is rolling, and in parts hilly. The soil, a gravelly loam, is adapted to grain
cultivation, especially wheat, the staple product. The average yield to the acre is
twelve bushels. Corn is cultivated, and potatoes bring a large return. The creek
marshes when drained make excellent meadows, and the natural grass is held in good
repute for the manufacture of hay. Grazing, especially for sheep, is an interest
for which the country is well calculated. Stimulated by high prices, wool-growing
at one time was a leading feature of husbandry. The low rates succeeding discour-
aged effort. Elijah Green was the first farmer of Sheridan to introduce sheep-hus-
bandry. He brought in a drove of ninety purchased in Ohio, and exchanged his
first clip in Buffalo for cloth, giving two pounds of wool for each yard of cloth,
which he sold at one dollar and fifty cents per yard. In the early day, before a
crop was raised, provisions were deficient in quantity and high-priced, and, to add
to the difficulty, the settlers had neither money nor its equivalent to make pur-
chases The old expression that " man wants but little" was verified, and with
better times necessaries, comforts, and luxuries came.

FIRST SETTLERS.

Reuben Abbott, of Erie, New York, was the pioneer of Sheridan, to which he
came with his family, September, 1831, and, entering eighty acres on sections 29
and 30, built a log house sixteen by twenty-two feet, and later, kept therein a
house of entertainment for travelers. In time, the structure enlarged was known
as "Abbott's Tavern," and as Waterbury post-office on Abbott's appointment as
postmaster. Orris Clapp came in and settled on land now owned by H. C.
Baker, on section 31, shortly after Abbott. In 1833 Chandler Church made
permanent location on section 33, and at the first town election was chosen super-
visor. M. J. Lathrop the same year settled on land now the property of D. Bil-
linghurst. In 1835 Martin Tichnor entered two hundred acres on sections 26
and 35. Joel Doolittle, Phineas Spaulding, and John P. Coonrad were settlers
of the same year. The year 1836 was marked by the influx of many settlers.
Among these were Elijah Green and William C. White, purchasers on section 26,
Daniel Rosseter, Seth Dean, Benjamin Harding, James Hicks, M. 0. Wiles, Wil-
liam M. Pearl, John Gay, H. Stevens, Enos Dutton, Chauncey Viets, Levi and
John E. Wiles, Caleb Lewis, and Mark Crane. In October, 1838, Rufus Burr
and family settled on the west half of the northwest quarter of section 21,
and the north half of the southwest quarter of the same section. This farm is
still the possession of the original purchaser, and is the only one in Sheridan which
has not changed hands. His experience on arrival was calculated to dispel the
idea of a " land flowing with milk and honey," as a pound of meat or butter were
not to be purchased in the town. He had secured groceries at Plymouth, Wayne
county, Michigan, from which place, distant seventy-five miles, his wife, Mrs. Burr,
walked. During the fall of 1838 Cyrus Dutton and James Nichols moved in ; the
latter settled on section 22. Robert B. Shipman settled in 1839, on land entered
by his father in 1835. A log house was built, and improvements made during the
142

year, and in 1840 he went as far as Plymouth to meet his mother and two
sisters.

The land, now constituting one of the finest farms in Sheridan, had been sold
for taxes, pending its occupation, and Shipman's first care was its redemption.
These pioneers brought provisions from long distances by team, and much of trading
was simply barter. One old resident relates that a letter for him lay in the post-
office six weeks before he could pay the twenty-five cents of postage. On another
occasion, his taxes, seven dollars in amount, were due, and he had no money to pay
them. Luckily, a settler had just arrived in Marengo, and to him Shipman went
with a dressed pig and a few bushels of oats. The pork was sold for one and a half
cents per pound, and the oats for a shilling a bushel, and the trouble tided over.
The new settler had no occasion to feel discouraged when his wants were thus
cheaply supplied.

While there was a semi-famine respecting some articles, there was a profusion
of others. Charles Blanchard, while mowing in a lot, observed many bees winging
their flight uniformly in the same direction. That evening he discovered their
treasury to be the hollow of a white oak, from which he obtained sufficient honey
to fill two wash-tubs besides other vessels.

THE FIRST ANNUAL MEETING.

The first annual meeting was convened April 5, 1836, at the house of R. A.
Abbott. Orris Clapp was called to the chair, and William M. Pearl and Daniel
Rosseter were chosen clerks. Election proceeded, and resulted as follows : Super-
visor, Chandler M. Church ; Town Clerk, Howell Bidwell ; Assessors, Orris Clapp,
William C. White, and Reuben Abbott ; Justices of the Peace, William M. Pearl,
Daniel Rosseter, Martin Tichnor, and Howell Bidwell ; Collector, J. W. Hicks ;
Overseers of the Poor, William C. White and C. M. Church ; Commissioners of
Highways, Phineas Spaulding, M. J. Lathrop, and Daniel Rosseter; Commis-
sioners of Schools, W. C. White, J. P. Coonrad, and 0. Clapp ; Constables, J. W.
Hicks, H. A. Stevens, Phineas Spaulding, and Cyrus Dutton ; and Fence-viewers,
R. Abbott and William C. Harding. The following is a list of supervisors : C.
M. Church, Campbell Waldo, David H. Miller, J. E. Wild, Thomas Burton,
Cyrus Dutton, C. M. Cobb, William H. Bothwell, John Kreitzer, Samuel J.
Henderson, David Yerplank, R. B. Shipman, James Graves, and Wellington
Bidwell.

EDUCATIONAL.

Primitive schools were started at an early date. The first of these was kept
in a board shanty which stood on the farm of Howell Bidwell, whose daughter
Ursula was the first teacher. Coeval with this school another was opened in 1832,
by Henry Beeker, in a log house near the southern part of the town. A third
school was commenced by James Hicks, on the Church place. The pioneer school-
house of Sheridan was erected in 1838. It was of round logs, and was located on
section 26, south of the road, and nearly opposite the present brick school-house
site. Exclusive of the village graded schools, there are six schools in the township.

PIONEER TAVERNS.

In a log house located on the Territorial road in the west part of the town Reuben
Abbott started the first tavern, long a landmark for westward-bound travelers. The
hostess was active and obliging. More than once she set off on foot in the early
morning, and traveled miles to obtain material for the breakfast of her guests.

Another tavern in the east part of town, on the same road, was kept for several
years by Julius Chamberlain. In 1844 the advent of rail facilities marked a de-
cline in travel on the old post-roads, and the taverns losing patronage closed their
doors to the public. Pleasant hours were passed by old travelers sitting at evening
time before the huge fireplaces, while the time sped swiftly under the charm of
song and story. All important gatherings were held at the taverns ; here the
farmer came for mail and news. Newspapers were a rarity, and eager perusal
followed when a chance paper was thrown from a passing stage.

PIONEER EXPERIENCE.

A man, now wealthy, came to Sheridan in early manhood, and erected a small
shanty, his lone abode the first year. He built a log cabin, which was roofed but
not closed upon the ends, and placed part of his land in crop. He was joined the

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Residence and Firm or MARSH DICJ

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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

143

second year by his mother and sisters. Having married, he built a small house, using
rough boards, and borrowed an old stove from a neighbor. The inside being
burned out, no baking was possible. His wife's mother presented an old tin re-
flector, in which baking was done by placing it before the fire. The table was
home-made. The chair-frames, purchased in Albion, were seated with bark, ob-
tained at the swamp. That pioneer now occupies one of the finest residences in
this section, and is the owner of a choice farm tract. His brother, with a similar
experience, occupies the brick structure on the adjoining farm. Views of their
homes are given in this work.

Again : a man came in with a family of six children and an aged mother. He
worked out by the month, and thereby not only obtained their support but secured
means to purchase a farm of forty acres. Alternating labor upon his land and
for others, he accumulated sufficient to purchase a second forty -acre lot. At his
death he had acquired a competence.

A BEAR STORY.

It has elsewhere been remarked the prevalence of bear, and their fondness for
the flesh of hogs. The following is related of John Gay : he was called up late
one night by neighbors who had treed a bear near his house. A young man re-
siding with the family took the only gun in the house, and Gay, in passing the
logging-ground of the previous day, armed himself with a handspike. A fire,
kindled to restrain the untimely descent of the bear, blazed brightly at the foot
of the tree, about which the gunless settlers kept guard. The gun was brought
into requisition, and following the report the bear fell crashing through the branches,
to the ground with a shattered shoulder. Gay advancing, struck heavily with the
handspike, but was caught by the arm and a close encounter followed. The set-
tler, despite powerful effort, was unable to free his arm. An unsuccessful attempt
was made by a neighbor to get in a blow with an axe, which narrowly escaped in-
juring Gay. The bear suddenly rising to its hind feet, with a supreme effort threw
his antagonist several feet and made for the woods. A second shot closed the
contest. The arm caught was badly lacerated, and clothing was rent in shreds.

EVENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS.

The first marriage in Sheridan was of Fernando Bathburn to Eunice Coif, on
June 26, 1836. The first death in Sheridan was that of Valeria A. Tichnor, who
was buried in a lot on the farm of W. A. Pearl. The old abutments of a log-

built bridge some eight rods below the present structure indicate the site of the
first bridge across the Kalamazoo in this township. A saw-mill was erected in
1838 from logs taken from the farm of Bufus Burr, upon land now owned by
Emery. The enterprise was undertaken by Daniel Bosseter and Eeuben Abbott.
The former dying, it was completed by Abbott, who operated it a few years and
then let it fall to ruins. It was the only mill built in the township.

Blacksmithing was commenced in 1838, by Enoch Whipple, near the cross-roads.
L. Wiselogle and Charles Muffley are blacksmiths of the present day. Improved
agricultural machinery was first used in Sheridan by E. B. Shipman, who intro-
duced a Buckeye mower. T. Soule introduced the first improved reaper. The
Shipmans, E. B. and J. D., W. Bice, and T. Soule united to purchase a drill
as an experiment, which proved a success. Sheridan has shown steady improvement
in agriculture; well-tilled farms yield large returns. Many who came here in
poverty have a moderate competence, the fruits of industry. Church attendance '
has been at Albion. Mills and manufactories are not found outside the village. ;
The township is strictly rural, and abounds in fine farms. The modern residence
has replaced the log cabin, in which, despite its rude accommodations, many happy
days were passed. Therein the young settler and his bride began the world for
themselves ; there children were born and reared, and associations known of life
memory.

Prosperity is evinced in Sheridan by its large barns and granaries, and its wind-
mills in extensive use to supply the various pasture-lots with water for the stock.

Population in 1874.— Males, 877 ; females, 810 ; total, 1687.

Live-Stock. — Horses, 629; work oxen, 10; milch cows, 571 ; neat cattle, other
than work oxen and cows, 477 ; swine, six months old, 961 ; sheep, six months
old, 3602 ; sheep sheared 1873, 4255 ; mules, 9.

Wheat on the ground May, 1874, 3456 acres; wheat harvested 1873, 3145
acres ; corn harvested 1873, 1432 acres ; wheat raised 1873, 43,232 bushels ; corn
raised 1873, 47,320 bushels; other grain, 30,970 bushels; potatoes raised, 8017
bushels; hay cut, 1985 tons; wool sheared, 19,380 pounds; pork marketed,
209,280 pounds ; cheese made, 300 pounds ; butter, 46,375 pounds ; fruit dried
for market, 9702 pounds ; cider made, 624 gallons ; acres of orchards, 511 ; straw-
berry vines, 2 acres; apples raised 1873. 18,378 bushels; pears, 79 bushels;
plums, 2 bushels ; cherries, 328 bushels ; grapes, 13 hundredweight ; strawberries,
31 bushels ; currants and gooseberries, 105 bushels.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

REUBEN ABBOTT.

In eastern climes it little recks what a man himself may be, the honors have
their source in ancestry ; far otherwise in these United States, or little could be
said of Reuben Abbott. He was born in Great Barrington, Vermont, on July
9, 1797. Little is known of his parentage or early life. About the year 1816
he removed to New York and located near Albany, where he engaged in his trade
of cordwainer. During September, 1818, he was married to Tryphena Abbott,
a native of Albany, and two years and a month his senior in age. The Abbotts
soon removed to Pittsford, Monroe county, and there Mr. Abbott engaged in
farming and worked at intervals at his trade. Time had been when this locality
was famed for wealth of soil, and western pioneers sent back from the peninsula
like tales of marvelous fertility. Influenced thereby Mr. Abbott sold his farm,
and, starting with his family, arrived at what is now the township of Sheridan, on
September 29, 1831. He was the first settler in the township. He, at the time,
ent^-ed eighty acres, to which he later added other eighty. This land is now the
property of Reuben Emery. A log house, sixteen by twenty feet, was erected,
and this structure, which was subsequently enlarged, was known for years as
Abbott's Tavern and as the " Waterbury Post-Omce, 1 ' Mr, Abbott having
received the appointment of postmaster.

In the Abbott Tavern was held the first town-meeting. The various offices of
justice of the peace ; assessor, and like positions requiring intelligence and discern-
ment, were held by him. It is said that, although quiet and unassuming, his
mind was firm and his convictions positive.

In 1838 himself and Daniel Rosseter began the construction of a saw-mill, but
the death of the latter occurring meanwhile, failure resulted, and Abbott lost heavily.

Influenced by that strange yet general spirit of unrest which has ever resulted
in migration, Mr. Abbott sold his Sheridan farm in 1844, and removed, first to
Illinois, then to Wisconsin, where he died on July 31, 1869, aged seventy-two
years. His wife had died in 1857.

Their descendants, six in number, are known as Samuel, Sylvester, Philander,
William, Caroline, and Joshua. Of these Sylvester, a resident of Sheridan, is a
prosperous owner of one of the best cultivated farms in the township.

THE SHIPMAN FAMILY.

Luman SHiPMAN,born in Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1789, served as a soldier
during the war of 1812, and was stationed with his regiment at Sackett's Harbor.
Term of enlistment having ex*pired,he resumed civil life, and engaged in distilling
at Rodman, New York. Later, he is found the owner of a farm in Perrinton,
Monroe county. There, in 1820, he married Miss Fanny Burr, by whom he had
two sons, — Robert B. and Joseph D. Shipman. Mrs. Shipman dying, the widower
married her sister, Emily Burr, now the wife of Elijah Green.

In 1835, Mr. Shipman came to Michigan, entered eighty acres in Sheridan,
and returning east, was engaged in preparing to move out with his family when
he died.

The eldest of his two sons, Robert B. Shipman, born January 6, 1821, left
his father at the age of sixteen to earn his livelihood. During the summer season
he found work with different farmers, and in winter attended the district schools.
In the winter of 1838 he was a student of Pennfield academy, and in the year fol-
lowing came out to Michigan, and settled on the land previously entered by his
father. Having erected a frame of small size, he sent for his stepmother and her
two daughters, whom he met at Plymouth, and escorted to their new home. Mr.
Shipman has served as town supervisor, and ranks among Sheridan's prominent
citizens. Miss Fanny Pierce, daughter of Amos B. Pierce, a settler in 1843 from
Genesee county, New York, married Mr. Shipman in the year 1845.

The family at present consists of the parents and three children, — Ida May,
born August 3, 1857, and Oma and Orah, twins, born May 23, 1860.

Joseph D. Shipman, the junior son, was born in Perrinton, Monroe county,
New York, April 22, 1824. He resided at home until the death of his father,
which occurred when Joseph was twelve years old, and continued to reside with
144

his mother, Fanny F. Burr Shipman, until their removal to Calhoun County, in

1842. At the death of his father Joseph was thrown entirely upon his own re-
sources for his support and education, obtaining the latter principally at the dis-
trict schools at the winter terms of the same. His final schooling was obtained
under the instruction of Prof. C. C. Olds. When he arrived at Sheridan, in

1843, he had but two dollars and a half in his pocket, and lived with his brother
in his cabin, the grandmother being the housekeeper, until the boys married, which
events took place in 1845 and 1846, Joseph marrying on the third of February
of the latter year, Jane Davis, a daughter of Reuben Davis, who settled in Cal-
houn County in 1837—38. During the summer of 1846 Mr. Shipman worked
the farm of his uncle, and in the fall of that year located on a portion of his father's
original purchase, and built a house by putting stakes in the ground and putting
up boards perpendicularly to inclose the same; and covering it with boards with a
single slope. The cabin was twelve by sixteen feet, and high enough to stand up in,
and nothing to spare, and had a single door and window. In this primitive dwelling
the young couple lived until the second winter, when the husband built a more
comfortable and roomy house, into which they removed. For four or five years
Mr. Shipman's only means of conveyance was a yoke of oxen and a bob-sled, not
being able to own a wagon. He has now, by dint of hard labor and judicious
management, a fine farm of two hundred and eighty acres and as good a house and
barns as there are in the township, a view of which we present our readers on
another page of our work. He has accumulated a large amount of money by the
raising of fine-wooled sheep, an excellent flock of which he now has on his farm.
The political sentiments of Mr. Shipman are and always have been in accord with
those of the Democratic party, and, though in the minority, he has held several of
the minor offices in his township. The children born to him by his wife Jane
were Martha F., now Mrs. C. C. House, of Sheridan, born March 1, 1847 ; El-
mina, now deceased, born May 1, 1848 ; and Jane D., now Mrs. Orrin Seaman,
also of Sheridan, born September 18, 1850. Mrs. Shipman died October 4, 1850 ;
and in 1851 Mr. Shipman, leaving his children with friends, crossed the plains to
California, where he remained two years, principally engaged in mining. He re-
turned to Sheridan in 1853, taught a winter term of school, and in September,
1854, was again married, to Esther Fowler, daughter of Edmund Fowler, late
of Sheridan, now deceased. Mrs. Shipman was born March 27, 1830, and has
borne to her husband three children, — Elva, now deceased, Alma J., born August
12, 1857, and now at home, and Edna, deceased. Mr. Shipman is at the present
writing the purchasing agent of the Albion grange, No. 124.

DANIEL BILLINGHURST

was born in Pittsford, Ontario county (now Monroe), New York, November 26,
1810. His father, William Billinghurst, was quite a prominent man in his day,
having represented his district in the State legislature, being one of those mem-
bers who assisted at the first excavation of the Erie canal, near Rome, New York.
He was born at Brighton, Sussex county, England, and it was from him that
Brighton, in Monroe county, New York, received its name. He raised a family
of twelve children, of whom the subject of our sketch was the third.

When quite young, Mr. Billinghurst accompanied his parents to Brighton, and
from there he removed to Batavia, New York. In September, 1844, he removed
to Michigan, and settled on % the farm now occupied by Charles Rogers, in Sher-
idan township. In 1861, he movecl on to the farm where he now, and has since
resided. It contains two hundred acres, and is remarkably well cultivated, and
very fertile and productive.

On the 29th of January, 1833, he married Miss Jane Elizabeth Hatch, a
native of Brighton, New York, by whom he had nine children, all living. May
25, 1859, his wife died, and, being left with a family of small children, he
married soon afterwards to Laurelia T. Hatch, sister of his deceased wife. She
was born at Brighton, October 5, 1827. This marriage was blessed with two chil-
dren. Mr. Billinghurst has held several town offices, among others, that of justice
of the peace, for one term ; all of which he filled with general acceptability. In poli-
tics he is a Jacksonian Democrat ; in religion, liberal. He is a man very extensively
known and much respected by the people of the community in which he resides.

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HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

145

ASAHEL WARNER.

The subject of our present sketch is one of the leading farmers of the town-
ship of Sheridan. He was born in Gorham township, Ontario county, New
York, April 8, 1800. His parents, Wareham and Cynthia (Adams) Warner,
were natives of Connecticut, from whence they emigrated to New York in the
early part of the nineteenth century, and followed the business of farming, in
the then unbroken forest of Ontario county, and subsequently removed into Mon-
roe county. Asahel Warner came to Calhoun County in 1831, locating in
Marshall, where he followed his trade, which was that of a carpenter, for several
years. He assisted in the erection of the first mill in Marshall, hewing the plank
and squaring the timber therefor, the same being raised by natural derricks
formed by bending trees downwards, and the recoil assisting materially in bring-
ing the heavy bents into position. In 1835, Mr. Warner assisted in the erection
of the first saw-mill at Albion, the same being owned by his father and Tenney
Peabody. He bought, at different times, three hundred and twenty acres of land
in Marengo township, and located his residence thereon in 1836, where he re-
mained until 1849, removing at that date to Albion, where he remained one
year only, and then removed to Sheridan, to a farm he bought, on which he
resided until 1862, when he disposed of the same, and bought his present location
of three hundred and thirty-three acres, on section 33 in Sheridan, and section
4 in Albion. We present our readers a view of the commodious and comfortable
farm-houses and barns of Mr. Warner on another page. On the 13th of May,
1846, Mr. Warner was united in the holy bonds of matrimony to Mary Jane,
daughter of Noel and Nancy (Butler) Moore, who were natives of the State of
New York. Mrs. Warner was born in Mendon, Monroe county, in the last-
named State, in 1827. This union has been blessed with the following-named
children : Corydon Adelbert, who is now on the old homestead with his parents ;
Francis E., now deceased; Corlinda Estella,now Mrs. Charles B. Oakes, of Battle
Creek ; Asahel M. and Charles Ernest, both at home with their father and mother.
Mr. Warner was engaged from 1851 to 1853 in mining in California. In politics
he is a Democrat, and has ever been true to his party. Both himself and his
worthy helpmeet are and have been prominent members of the Methodist church.

MARSH DICKEY.

The subject of this sketch, Marsh Dickey, though a quiet, modest, and unassum-
ing gentleman, is none the less to be reckoned among those who have contributed
to make Calhoun County what it is in point of excellence and importance among
the sisterhood of counties in the Wolverine State. He has attended quietly to
his own private affairs, and holds a" high place in the estimation of his neighbors
and fellow-citizens. Averse to public life, he has pursued the path of the private
citizen, thereby enjoying the comforts of domestic life, and escaping the rough
jostling of partisan strife, and is now calmly enjoying the results of years of labor,
a well-earned competency. He was born in Ackworth, Cheshire county, New
Hampshire, July 12, 1808, of which State his parents, Benjamin and Isabella
(Marsh) Dickey, were natives. The lad lived with his parents on the farm in
Ackworth until he was fifteen years of age, at which time the family removed to
the northern part of Vermont near the Canadian border, where Marsh resided
for six years, removing when twenty-one years of age to Brockport, New York,
where he worked one summer (1830) on a farm, and spent the summer of 1831
in traveling in Michigan. He returned to Brockport, and there and elsewhere
in Monroe and Niagara counties spent the time until 1840, at which date he
removed with his family to Fredonia, Calhoun County, Michigan, arriving there
in November of that year. He purchased one hundred and twenty acres in Fre-
donia, and improved the same, and together with other lands he had added to it
subsequently sold in 1864, and bought a farm three miles west of Albion in Sheri-
dan, on section 31, and on section 36 in Marengo, the same being his present loca-
tion, which now contains two hundred and five acres. It was somewhat improved
when he first bought it, but he has added largely to its value. in improvements and
buildings, a view of which may be seen on another page of our work. In October,
1834, Mr. Dickey was united in marriage to Susan, daughter of Orrin and Rhoda
(Brainard) Smith, natives of Connecticut. This marriage, which has been a
happy one, has been blessed with the following-named children : Sylvester B.,
now of Pilot, Illinois ; George, who died in infancy ; Albert L., now on his own
farm in Marengo ; Francis, who died at sixteen years, while attending Albion
college ; and Anderson, on the old homestead with his father. Politically, Mr.
Dickey is a Republican, having formerly been a member of the Whig party. For
forty-seven years Mr. and Mrs. Dickey have been members of the Methodist
church, and are now highly esteemed, by the society at Albion, for their works' sake.
19

CHANDLER M. CHURCH.

Among the prominent pioneers of Sheridan, Chandler Munson Church stood
in the front. Prominent in every good work, his character challenges the admira-
tion of all who knew him. He and his estimable companion, who survives him,
and, as a token of her estimate of his worth, causes this tribute to be paid to his
memory, were the foremost supporters of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Albion, the former being also a most liberal supporter of the Albion female col-
lege, in the establishment of which he was one of the prime movers. He was
born in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, July 31, 1804. His parents, Jesse and
Margery (Munson) Church, with their three children, removed to the town of
Riga, G-enesee county, New York, in the year 1806-07, then an unbroken wilder-
ness. Chandler obtained such an education as he could acquire at the common
schools of the day, but so improved his meagre advantages that he was enabled,
to assume the role of teacher in the grade of schools wherein he was once a pupil.,
He subsequently acquired a knowledge of surveying, and followed and taught the
profession. On the opening of the Erie canal he engaged in the forwarding busi-
ness until 1834, at which time he emigrated to Calhoun County, Michigan, and
located on section 33 in Sheridan, purchasing one hundred and sixty acres, to
which he and Mrs. Church have added one hundred and forty acres more. It
was of the original oak openings, but is at present one of the best-cultivated farms
in the township. He migrated with his family from Monroe county, New York,
traveling through Canada with an ox-team, being a month on the way, and when
he had got finally settled in his cabin, with his household treasures, he had just
two shillings left, and spent that for postage on a letter to the " old folks at home,"
telling them of the new home in the west. In 1851 Mr. Church and his wife
went to California, where he followed farming in Nevada county until his death,
which occurred November 22, 1857. Mr. Church commenced life poor in this
world's goods, but by economy and good judgment, combined with untiring in-
dustry, he amassed a handsome property both in Michigan and California. In
politics he was a Democrat, and was elected the first supervisor for the township
of Sheridan, and also held the offices of justice of the peace and postmaster for
several years. Mr. Church and his wife joined the Methodist church, when
young, in New York, he being the class-leader of the Albion church for many
years.

On the 2d day of April, 1829, Mr. Church was united in marriage to Lura
Warner, daughter of Wareham Warner, of Monroe county, New York. She
was born in Gorham township, Ontario county, New York, in 1807, and at
present resides in the village of Albion, to which place she returned from Cali-
fornia in 1869, occupying the house built by her father in that village. The
marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Church was blessed with the following children:
Wareham Church, who was killed accidentally on the homestead the same fall
the family came to Calhoun ; Munson W., who now resides, in California; Lura
Ann, now deceased ; Mary Elizabeth, now the wife of Bernard C. Whitman, a
prominent lawyer of Virginia City, Nevada, and formerly judge of the supreme
court of that State ; and John Franklin Church, who resides on the old home-
stead. A portrait of this old pioneer, with that of his wife, will be seen among
the illustrations of Albion township.

RUFUS BURR.

Among the leading men and pioneers of the town of Sheridan is Rufus Burr.
His father, Robert Burr, was of English extraction, though a native of Great
Barrington, Massachusetts, where he followed the trade of a blacksmith, and from
whence, when a young man, he removed to the village of Freehold, Greene
county, New York, where, shortly afterwards, he married Miss Elizabeth Dodge,
and where the subject of our sketch was born on the 13th day of January, 1809.
From Greene county the elder Burr removed with his family to Dutchess county,
in the same State, where he purchased a farm, but subsequently sold it and re-
moved to Watertown, in the same State, where he resumed his occupation as a
blacksmith. Here he remained for six years, and then removed to the town of
Perrinton, Monroe county, New York, where he again purchased a farm, upon
which he resided until his death, which occurred in the year 1830. Rufus Burr
resided with his father until his majority, assisting on the farm, and obtaining
such an education at the common schools of the county as his limited opportuni-
ties afforded. On the death of his father he began life for himself in the town
of Bloomfield, Ontario county, New York, engaging himself to one Bays Baker,
with whom he remained five years in the business of a farmer. Emigration at
this period settling heavily into Michigan, Mr. Burr came to Calhoun County, and
with his accumulations bought, in the fall of 1835, the west half of northwest

146

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

quarter and north half of southwest quarter section 21, in the township of Sheri-
dan, on which he now resides, and which is the only location in the township
now owned by the original purchaser. After securing his land, Mr. Burr re-
turned to Perrinton, and for three years was engaged as foreman on the farm of
John Ayrault. On the 15th day of March, 1838, he was married to Miss Jane
Tompkins, of Perrinton, who was born in Beekman, Dutchess county, New York,
June 21, 1818. She was the fourth child of Gabriel and Phebe Tompkins, who
were blessed with twelve children. Mr. Burr with his young wife came to his
western home in the month of October following their marriage. On his arrival
at Plymouth, Wayne county, Michigan, he bought an ox-team and some pro-
visions, which, together with their household goods, loading the team heavily,
the heroic wife and helpmeet made the entire journey of seventy-five miles on
foot.

Mr. and Mrs. Burr have had three children born to them : Mary E., now Mrs.
Daniel B. Peck, Emma A., and Charles B., the latter two living with their
parents on the old homestead.

Characterized by industry and integrity, Mr. Burr has gained a competency of
this world's goods, which he is in his latter days enjoying in the midst of his
family, by whom he is surrounded, on a fine tract of land of two hundred acres,
having brought nature's original domain to be one of the best cultivated and
improved farms in the township, — a view of which, together with portraits of
these pioneers, we present on another page. Quiet and unassuming in his man-
ners, Mr. Burr has not sought public positions of trust and honor, preferring the
path of the private citizen, whose duties he has at all times striven to fulfill, and
the high regard and esteem in which he is held by his fellow-townsmen evidence
that he has not been unsuccessful in his endeavors to fill his desired place in life.

-f;^W:^i >•.>.;;>':•.■'

JOEL DOOLITTLE.

MRS. JOEL DOOLITTLE.

JOEL DOOLITTLE.

The caption of the following brief outline of a life recalls a name long familiar
to the settlers of this locality- Joel Doolittle was a native of Cheshire county,
Connecticut, where, upon his father's farm, his youthful years were passed.

Having served as an apprentice to the tanner's trade, he began business on his
own account in Essex, Monmouth county, New Jersey, and while there united in
marriage with Barbara Apker, a lady whose life-time association has been marked
by kindness, sympathy, and love.

Subsequent to marriage Mr. Doolittle removed to New York in search of a
more remunerative field of labor, but failing in his effort returned to New Jersey,
where for about fourteen years he conducted a business as tanner and currier.

Some time in 1835 glowing accounts of opportunities to do well in the west
became the theme of all in that region, and Mr. Doolittle resolved upon a personal
test of their verity. His preparations were soon made, and he set forth upon his
journey, accompanied by his family, his wife, two sons, Isaac and Andrew, and
three daughters, Sarah A., Margaret E., and Mary J.

Arrived at his destination, one hundred and forty-six acres of land were entered
on section 17, and all this tract, excepting thirty-three acres, is still in possession
of his descendants.

As a man, the various duties of life enjoined by the laws of association upon
each member of a community were performed by Mr. Doolittle with a full sense

of his responsibility in these essentials and with laudable heartiness. A sincere
and earnest Christian, Mr. Doolittle treated the subject of religion with the atten-
tion commensurate with its importance, and often officiated in the Universalist
pulpit, not only in his own vicinity, but in others more remote.

In the community he was held as a good neighbor and true friend, and won the
esteem of many.

At home he was a kind husband and judicious parent. He loved his family
and was beloved by them. He was unassuming in manner, quiet and unobtrusive.
He took no part in political strife and refused all tenders of public office. A lover
of nature and a farmer by choice, he sought by all means to improve and adorn
his rural surroundings, and cherished an ambition to excel in agriculture. His
farm, cultivated with studious care, was one of the best in the township, and his
harvests were commensurate with his intelligent labor.

His wife, that loving and kind friend and mother, passed away from earth in
November, 1859 ; and when, in January of the year following, he laid him down
to die, it was in peace and good will to all and with hope for the future.

Husband and wife lie side by side upon the old farm, beneath the shade of an
apple-tree which his provident hand had planted upon his arrival in Sheridan.
Their life's duties ended, their work well done.

ELIJAH GREEN.

MRS. ELIJAH GREEN.

ELIJAH GREEN.

Elijah Green, the son of Hezekiah and Lucy (Vaugn) Green, was born April
13, 1811, and is a descendant of General Nathaniel Green of Revolutionary fame.

His boyhood being passed upon his father's farm, his elementary education was
acquired at the district school. Academic instruction was enjoyed at Bridge water,
Oneida county, New York, and later the trades of carpenter and joiner and mill-
wright were learned.

On October 7, 1833, he was united in marriage to Harriet Potter, and in Sep-
tember, 1836, migrated to Michigan, and here, having entered land in Eaton
county, he returned for his family during the following February. Mrs. Green
died in March, and the widower came to Michigan alone, located in Albion, and
there followed his trade for several years.

He built the first overshot water-wheel used in the township of Sheridan, and,
soon after his arrival here, went in company with Zina Stowell to construct a
saw-mill upon the east branch of the Kalamazoo, on section 1. An eighty-acre

lot, located in 1835 by Adonijah Stevens and occupied for several years by W.
Fairehild, was bought by Mr. Green in 1838.

On May 1, 1842, Mr. Green was again married. His wife was the widoAV of
L. Shipman, by whom she had two children, Frank and Mary. The fruits of
the second marriage have been six children, three of whom died in childhood.
The living are Dennis V., Ella J., and Nettie E., born respectively on December
8, 1846, May 7, 1852, and April 5, 1857. After his marriage Mr. Green moved
upon his land and assumed the avocation of farmer, in which calling he has been
very successful. Regarded as one of the substantial men of the county, his energy
and judicious management are known as the means to this end, and, possessing
a competence, he can enjoy it as honestly and hardly earned. It is the price of
mental and physical labor. Content to pursue the walks of a private citizen, Mr.
Green has no aspiration for political preferment, and finds in himself, his family,
and his surroundings, the source of happiness and usefulness.

Residence or SYLVESTER ABBOTT, Sheridan, Calhoun Co, Michigan.

i

TEKONSHA TOWNSHIP.

Tekonsha includes congressional township 4 south, and range 6 west, and
was organized in 1836, having previously formed a part of Marshall. It is a
beautiful township, taken altogether, and ranks high among the different divisions
of Calhoun County. Its surface is composed of plain and timbered land, with a
few small marshes, and along the western border a ridge rises perhaps sixty or
eighty feet above the general level, lending a pleasing diversity to the landscape.
The St. Joseph river enters the township on section 24, and leaves it on section
19, after a course through it of about eight miles, in which distance it receives
the waters of a few smaller tributaries. At Tekonsha village its current is breasted
by a dam, and its waters made to turn the wheels of a grist-mill and a saw-mill.
Numerous lakes abound in the township, among them Nottawa-seepe, on section 3,
and Warner's, on section 6. The latter is a very pretty lake, covering about
eighty acres. Nottawa-seepe lake extends into Fredonia township, and has an area
of about two hundred and fifty acres.

The air-line division of the Michigan Central railway was completed across
the township in the fall of 1870, the citizens voting a subscription of fifteen
thousand dollars to aid in its construction. The Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake
Michigan railway crosses the southwest corner, on section 31, and the grade of
the proposed Marshall and Coldwater road crosses the township from north to
south, nearly in the centre, being an air-line except in the region of Nottawa-seepe
lake.

Timber is abundant, and mostly oak, although in the lower lands the black ash
and elm are found. An occasional tamarack swamp is also seen.

The inhabitants are principally from the State of New York, with a few from
Vermont and other States, and many of them possess fine farms, which are well
improved, and reflect credit on their owners.

In the southeast part of the township is located the *

VILLAGE OF TEKONSHA,

which is an enterprising and thrifty burg of some seven or eight hundred inhabi-
tants, situated on the air-line division of the Michigan Central railway, the St.
Joseph river, and the old Jackson and White Pigeon Territorial road. The vil-
lage is located on the site of an old Potawattomie town, in the midst of a beau-
tiful plain, on the north bank of the St. Joseph river. When the country was
first settled by the whites this village contained two or three hundred inhabitants,
who dwelt in canvas tents and bark wigwams. They also had on the south side
of the river, on the present Phelps farm, a spot containing eight or ten acres,
upon which they raised corn. Near the corn-field was their burying-ground,
which occupied the site of the cemetery now used by the whites.

The customs of the Indians in regard to burying their dead were strange
enough to the settlers. When one of their number died in the winter, while the
ground was frozen, they would fell a large tree, hollow out the centre, place their
dead in it, and cover the body with a tightly-fitting slab, which was held down by
stakes driven firmly into the ground on either side, and crossed over the top.
There were a number of graves scattered over the ground where the village now
stands, one of them being in the garden of Timothy Kimball, and surrounded by
a log fence or pen, which was kept in careful repair by the Indians from year to
year. The curiosity of the settlers was greatly excited at seeing this particular
grave so well cared for, and they instituted inquiries, and found out that it was
the resting-place of a much-loved chief, named Te-kon-qiia-sha, who, they said,
was a " big Injun."

A party named Roger Sherman, with altogether too great a spirit of inquisitive-
ness in his nature, went one night alone to this grave, and, vandal-like, exhumed
the body to see, as he afterwards stated, what was buried with it. The grave was
on the premises now owned by John Geisel, and nothing was found but a rifle
and some valueless and much-decayed trinkets. The conclusion was, from the
appearance of things, that he had been buried about ten years. It was exceed-
ingly difficult to restrain the Indians from doing violence when they found the
matter out, and had they been allowed to exercise their feelings of revenge, it is
doubtful if Sherman would ever have cared whether he dug into another Indian
grave or not.

From different graves were taken such trophies as guns, bows and arrows,
powder-horns, etc., and the customs of the savage race were found to be very

strange and fanciful in a great many particulars. The skull of Te-Jcon-qua-sha
was kept in the possession of parties in the village until within a few years past,
and was well developed, and proved that the Indian who possessed it was no
ordinary character among them. A well-known lady in the place last had the
skull in her possession ; but, because it seemed to be forever showing itself in out- '
of-the-way places, she finally loaned it to a person who was traveling over the '
country lecturing on phrenology, etc.

When the settlers had become of sufficient numbers to think of organizing a
separate township, they unanimously decided that the name of the celebrated chief
should be given to it, shortened however from Tehonquasha to Tekonsha.

The Indians who inhabited this region have for many years been removed to
other localities. The hunting-grounds which gave soft echo to their tread through
a long lapse of time know them no more. Their camp-fires no longer light the
dark waters of the silvery river, and no more does the war-song or the shout of
jubilee float in wild cadence through the tree-tops of the surrounding forest.
Hushed is the plaintive wailing over the death of the warrior, and gone are the
faces of copper hue which gathered upon the fertile plain they loved so well.
The twang of the bow-string and the sharp hiss of the swiftly-flying arrow are
silent, and the echoes of the red man's yell long ago died away and became for-
ever hushed. On the spot where the dusky throng once gathered now rise the
house-tops and spires of a village built by a more peaceful race. The bark wig-
wam has given place to the splendid residence of the " pale-face ;" and the con-
trast is great between the appearance of the country to-day and that which it
bore forty-five years ago, when the first white settler planted his pioneer footsteps
in the vicinity. The snows of many winters have come and gone since the red
son of the forest listened to the coming march of the white race, and heard

" . . the tread of pioneers,
Of nations yet to be,
The first low wash of waves, where soon
Should roll a human sea."

THE FIRST LOCATION OF LAND

made in Tekonsha township was by Darius Pierce, May 29, 1832. This tract
consisted of half of section 27, including the site of the village of Tekonsha. The
first actual settler upon it was Timothy Kimball, brother of Deacon Kimball, of
Marshall. He purchased the land of Mr. Pierce, and in the spring of 1833 built
a log cabin, which stood near the site of the present saw-mill. Mr. Kimball lived
but a short time in the place, and afterwards removed to Indiana. He finally
came back to the county and stopped at Marshall. Mr. Kimball's cabin was one
of four log houses built on the site of the town before a frame house was put up.

In the spring of 1836, Samuel Hemenway came to Tekonsha and located in the
village. He purchased the hotel building now known as the " Blake House,"
which was at that time but partially finished, and known as the " Tekonsha
House. " Mr. Hemenway had the building finished, and on Christmas night,
1837, it was thrown open and dedicated by a Christmas party. Mr. Hemenway's
brother Joseph, who arrived in 1837, kept the house while Samuel owned it. It
was originally built, or partially so, by Jonathan S. Barclay (or Smith Barclay, as
he' was more familiarly known), and was the second hotel in the village, the first
one having been opened by Lewis Fuller, in the eastern part of the town, in the
winter of 1835-36. This house was built of tamarack logs. Fuller sold his
hotel to John J. James, who lived west of town, on the " Windfall," and purchased
a share in the " Tekonsha House," with Barclay. Barclay and Fuller sold to
Samuel Hemenway, who completed the building. The hotel then, as at present,
contained a bar for the sale of liquors, and had considerable custom.

Before Mr. Hemenway purchased the " Tekonsha House" he opened the first
store in the village, in a building which stood on the east side of the street, oppo-
site the hotel building. This was in 1836. This store was considered one of the
best in the county at the time. Mr. Hemenway on one occasion went east to buy
goods, and gave the " Tekonsha House" as security for moneys to a man named
Forrestall, into whose hands it afterwards fell on account of Mr. Hemenway being
unable to meet his payments. Forrestall held the property a number of years,
and it finally passed into other hands. It is now owned by John C. Blake. Mr.
Hemenway was from Weathersfield, Windsor county, Vermont. He was the

147

148

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

first merchant in Tekonsha, although the same season another store was started
by Cornelius Wendell, which was also a first-class establishment. These two
stores, the hotel, and other institutions gave Tekonsha a prominent and permanent
footing among her sister towns, and the village has grown gradually but surely
ever since.

In June, 1836, a saw-mill was built by Harris C. Goodrich and Charles D.
Smith, in which Thomas Van Scouter sawed the first lumber. A man named
Benjamin Wright, one of the first settlers of Marengo township, was employed to
build the mill. The mill-race was begun in the fall of 1835, and finished in the
spring of 1836. In its construction, Ranodyne Shedd, Wm. H. Kerr, Lewis
Merrifield, and others aided materially. Mr. Merrifield was from near Rochester,
New York, and located in Marshall, where he was employed by C. D. Smith. He
afterwards became a resident of Tekonsha, as did also his brother Levi. The latter
died in Tekonsha. Lewis Merrifield still owns property in the village, but resides
in Union City, Branch county.

The original plat of the village of Tekonsha was laid out in May, 1836, by
Messrs. Charles D. Smith, Harris C. Goodrich, Cornelius Wendell, Palmer, and
Curtis, under the name*of Wendell, Palmer, Curtis & Co. The survey was made
by C. Hewitt, and included five hundred and twenty-eight lots on the north side
of the St. Joseph river, on the southeast quarter of section 27 and the west half
of the southwest quarter of section 26. All lots except fractional ones were four
by eight rods, and the streets were four and five rods in width.

THE FIRST FRAME HOUSE

in the village was built the same season, of lumber sawed in the new saw-mill.
This house is yet standing, as also is the second one erected in the place, which
was built soon after Yan Scouter's, by John Smith. A third frame house was
immediately put up by Harris C. Goodrich, one of the proprietors of the town.
Several other frame houses were erected this year, and the proprietors of the saw-
mill were furnished plenty of work.

In the fall of 1836, Tekonsha having become an important village, with a con-
siderable population, it was deemed necessary to have a post-ofiice, and accordingly
steps were taken towards accomplishing that purpose ; their efforts were crowned
with success, the office being established the same fall, and either Harris C. Good-
rich or Dr. Ezekiel Allen installed as first postmaster. At the same time a mail
route was opened between Marshall and Tekonsha, and shortly after extended
through to Coldwater, Branch county. The carrier transported the mail as it
happened to be convenient, — on horseback, in his wagon, or other conveyance.
Not much time elapsed before a stage line was established, the stages being drawn
by four horses. The mail was then carried by stage, and a new era of prosperity
opened up before the thriving village. The roads at that day followed the course
which was the dryest, in order to avoid swamps and sloughs. Of course they
were tolerably crooked, and a person following one of them for the first time was
apt to get the points of the compass in an entirely different shape from what they
had ever been known before, and came out at the end of his journey in a state of
blissful uncertainty as to where he was. The Coldwater and Marshall road was
laid out about 1836 or 1837, and traveled its entire length. The influx of set-
tlers was very rapid, and speculation among capitalists was carried on to an exten-
sive degree. Every man with a speculative turn of mind and a pocket full of
money became anxious to try his hand at making a fortune in the shortest pos-
sible time. So eager were the different classes to get comfortably rich without
much labor that many of them became blinded by their selfish .notions, and could
see only the object to be attained, without considering how it was to be done. The
consequence was that numbers of men lost all the property they had, and were
obliged to settle down to hard work, with a final realizing sense that " all is not
gold that glitters." Tekonsha, with other places, felt the crash for a long time ;
her growth was stagnated, and her beautiful location and hitherto prosperous set-
tlement almost lost sight of in the general falling to pieces of supposed laudable
schemes, and the crash which followed the breaking up of many of the heaviest
business firms and capitalists.

THE FIRST BLACKSMITH-SHOP

in the village was started by Cornelius Osborn, who now lives in the State of Cal-
ifornia. He did the first horse-shoeing in town, having only a nail-hammer to
work with.

THE FIRST WAGON

manufactured in the township was made by William H. Kerr. He afterwards
built a shop on his farm, west of the village, and worked in it till he was married,
after which time he opened a shop in the village and worked in it four or five
years. Thomas Armitage also started a wagon-shop in the village while Mr. Kerr
was working in his shop west of town. Ithamer Granger next worked at the

trade, on his farm in the " Windfall." John Geisel finally came to town and began
the business, and is still working at it.

A school-house was built on the northeast part of the town plat in 1837. It
was constructed of plank made at the saw-mill, and was clapboarded on the out-
side. The first teacher in it was Miss Chloe Ann Mead, who is now the wife of
Harvey Kennedy, living in Clarendon township. The present fine two-story
brick school-house was erected in 1873, at a cost of twelve thousand dollars.

John B. Yanorman, now residing in the village, is a native of Niagara county,
New York. His parents removed from there to Medina county, Ohio, in 1828.
His father, Benjamin Yanorman, was also a native of New York. In February,
1850, John B. Yanorman removed to Barry county, Michigan, and in 1863
came to Tekonsha, where he has since resided.

In the winter of 1835-36, a log bridge was built across the St. Joseph river,
and stood very nearly where the wooden bridge now is. It was covered with
poles, and was finally replaced by a frame structure, covered with plank, which
was also taken away. Two have been built on the site since, the one now stand-
ing being the fourth at the place. It will probably soon be taken down and an
iron bridge constructed instead. A bridge was also built early, south of the town
across the St. Joseph, as it became necessary to have one.

John Main came from Bergen, Genesee county, New York, in 1837, and settled
on section 29, in Clarendon county. He had been out in 1835 and located his
land. He lived on his farm until 1869, when he removed to Tekonsha village,
where he is now to be found. The first winter he stayed in Clarendon he taught
school, and in June, 1838, went back to New York and married, and returned
with his wife, who is also yet living. * Mr. Main has been connected with the
Presbyterian church of Clarendon and Tekonsha ever since its organization.

THE FIRST PHYSICIAN

in Tekonsha was Dr. Ezekiel Allen, who came in 1836. He was a very success-
ful practitioner, and became a prominent man in the neighborhood, as the list of
township officers will show. Dr. Henry Proctor followed Dr. Allen, becoming the
second physician in the place.

Dr. Campbell Waldo came from Cayuga county, New York, about 1833-34,
and located a farm in Albion township, near Albion village. He was accompanied
by his wife, one son, and four daughters. He lived for some time upon the farm,
and then moved into the village, where he was frequently called upon, for consul-
tation mainly, in cases of sickness. He was a very successful physician of the
allopathic school, and had practiced many years in the State of New York before
he came west. He was one of the first physicians who settled in Calhoun County.
He built a saw-mill in Eaton county at an early day, and owned some four hun-
dred acres of land in its vicinity. He finally purchased the mill-site at Tekonsha,
and also became the owner of a considerable portion of the village lots. About
1850 he built the grist-mill now standing, and also started a store, a cooper-shop,
and numerous other institutions. He was also interested to some extent in prop-
erty in the village of Burlington. After losing his eyesight entirely, he went
back to Albion, and died there at the house of his son-in-law, W. Y. Morrison,
in 1866, aged nearly eighty years. He was the originator of a select school at
Tekonsha (in which his son, C. G. Waldo, taught), and was a liberal contributor
toward all enterprises for the public good. Before leaving New York he was a
member of the lower house of the legislature of that State, and after coming to
Michigan was elected to the State senate in the fall of 1849, from the senatorial
district comprised by the counties of Calhoun, Eaton, Kalamazoo, and Branch.
He also held numerous township offices.

One son. was born after the family came to Michigan, and of the six children
four are now living in Calhoun County. C. G. Waldo is. a prominent citizen of
Tekonsha, and his brother, G. P. Waldo, resides in Marshall, owning also a resi-
dence in Tekonsha. He has also been prominently connected with the affairs of
the township. One daughter, Bena A. Waldo, now Mrs. Chester Ingersoll, re-
sides in Marshall, and another, Melissa, is the wife of William Y. Morrison, of
Albion. C. G. Waldo, at Tekonsha, is the proprietor of a large addition on the
west side of the village, upon which are many elegent residence sites, which are
fast becoming valuable. Mr. Waldo lives in the southwest part of town, in a tasty
residence, and has been for a long time a prominent character in the village and
township, both politically and socially.

Mrs. William H. Kerr, living with her husband two miles west of the village,
was born in Windsor, Windsor county, Yermont, May 26, 1818. Her maiden
name was Mary Barker. In the fall of 1837 she came with her uncle, Joseph
Hemanway, to Tekonsha. They left home the 7th of October, came by team to
Troy, from which point they took a packet-boat on the Erie canal to Buffalo,
thence by boat to Toledo, and from Toledo to Tekonsha by team, the latter part
of the journey occupying five days, and it was necessary to go ahead of the team
in many instances, and measure the mud with a pole, before they dared to push

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

149

forward. The family consisted of five persons, including Miss Barker. She is
now the only one of them living. She was married to William H. Kerr on the
19th of February, 1840.

When Mr. Hemenway and his family arrived at Tekonsha they went into the
" Tekonsha House," then about completed, and kept it for some time for Samuel
Hemenway, the proprietor, and brother of Joseph. Joseph Hemenway died in
1853, and his wife in December,, 1852.

At one time, Dr. John Greaves, of Marshall, started from Singapore with
about fifteen thousand dollars of " wild-cat" money, and on the way out in the
stage, a couple of persons, who knew he had it, got off, cut the trunk away from
the stage, and rifled it of its contents ; coming on to Tekonsha, where they hid
the money in the stable of the " Tekonsha House" and " put up" at the hotel.
A hog, while rooting around in the barn, happened to uncover the money, and
the doctor thus recovered it. He gave Mrs. Joseph Hemenway a hundred dollars
of it, and told her to " get rid of it as soon as possible." He also gave consider-
able of it away to other persons, because he probably thought he could not use it
all himself before it became utterly worthless, and it might do some good if
divided up.

Occasionally a drunken or excited Indian would make himself troublesome and
frighten the ladies badly. One day an intoxicated savage came into the house,
drew a knife, and ejaculated, " White man steal my pony ; me kimapoo you !"
(kill you). Miss Barker ran from the house, badly frightened, but the Indian did
no further violence.

One of Mrs. Joseph .Hemenway's sons, William Logan (by her first husband),
served in the Mexican war, and afterwards died while on his way home. Another
son, Richard R. Hemenway, died from a disease contracted in the army during the
Rebellion. They are all buried in the cemetery on the " windfall," section 29.

WASHINGTON LODGE, NO. 7, F. AND A. M.,

was chartered January 11, 1855, and organized with a small membership. The
first officers were Theron Hamilton, W. M. ; Oscar L. Coles, S. W. ; Andrew
Miller, J. W. Their lodge-room is in the frame building built by them in 1867
or 1868, the upper story of which they now own. The present membership is
seventy-five (March 28, 1877). Formerly it was one hundred, but a new lodge
was formed at Burlington, which took some of them away. The present officers
are A. D. Eldred, W. M. ; Charles Henderson, S. W. ; John E. Deidrick, J. W.;
William Young, Treasurer ; J. M. Failing, Secretary ; C. M. Cogswell, S. D. ; S.
H. Shedd, J. D. ; L. R. Mills, Tyler ; A. J. Robinson and William H. Kerr,
Stewards ; William Young, Chaplain. The lodge-room is neatly fitted up, and
the lodge itself is in a flourishing condition, despite the decrease in its membership
by the formation of the new lodge at Burlington.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

As early as 1832-33, Methodist itinerants preached in the "Tekonsha charge,"
some years before Michigan was admitted as a State. Some of the first preachers
of this denomination were Revs. Elijah Pilcher, E. Crane, Jonah Zimmerman,
Alvin Billings, William Young, John Ercanbrack, David Thomas, and others,
whose circuit embraced an area of territory from Jackson county on the east, to
nearly one-fourth of Calhoun county on the north, to the State line on the south,
including the whole of Branch county, and on the west about one-fourth of St.
Joseph county, — about the size of a presiding elder's district at present. The first
presiding elder, as early as 1836, was Rev. Henry Colclazer. The circuit was first
known as " Coldwater mission," and was afterwards changed to " Burlington cir-
cuit," first as a four weeks' and afterwards a two weeks' charge, and connected
with Marshall district (Rev. Elijah Crane, P. E.). It was traveled successively by
Revs. S. A. Osborn, M. Hickey, I. Bennett, N. Fassit, O. Mason (who died before
he came on the charge, October, 1850), I. C. Abbott, T. H. Jacobs, F. S. Root, C.
Mosher, and A. A. Dunton, after which it was made a two weeks' charge, and Rev.
W. G. Stonix appointed to it. The appointments at this time were Burlington,
Clarendon, Tekonsha, Lyon Lake, and Eckford. Mr. Stonix was followed by Revs.
I. E. Smith and L. Gee. In 1857, Rev. G-. D. Palmer was sent, but was removed
by the presiding elder, and Rev. I. Odell appointed as his successor. In 1858,
Rev. A. T. Ayres was appointed, but was removed, and Rev. M. I. Smith ap-
pointed in his place. In 1859, during the latter's appointment, a new class was
formed at South Newton, and the circuit again made a four weeks' charge. Revs.
A. Billings and M. M. Steele were appointed, and preached at the following places :
Burlington, South Newton, Emmett, Tekonsha, West Girard, Clarendon, Lyon
Lake, and Eckford. In 1860 it was changed back to a two weeks' charge, and
Rev. J. I. Beal appointed. Rev. S. A. Osborn was again appointed for 1861 and
1862. He died in 1862, and was buried in the Clarendon cemetery. Rev. Mr.
Kelso, of Missouri, succeeded him, and supplied the charge the balance of the year.
Rev. E. C. Chambers was appointed in 1863, but did not come to the work, and

Rev. Joseph Jennings supplied the charge. In 1864, the name of the charge was
changed to Tekonsha, and Rev. R. Sapp appointed. Rev. N. L. Brockway had
charge in 1865, and Rev. G. W. Tuthill in 1866-67. At the conference of
1867, the circuit was again divided, and Eckford and Lyon Lake appointments
assigned to Marengo charge, leaving Burlington, Tekonsha, and Clarendon as a
separate charge. Rev. M. I. Smith was again appointed. During this year
(1867) the foundation of the church at Tekonsha was laid, and the building was
completed and dedicated December 7, 1869. Its cost was about thirty-one hun-
dred and fifty dollars. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. G. B.
Jocelyn, D.D. The building is thirty-six by sixty feet in dimensions, and will
seat* about five hundred people. It is the first one the society has ever erected,
meetings being first held in the red school-house, a mile and a half north of town,
in the school-house in the village, and in the old town hall. When the church
at Tekonsha was built the old church in Clarendon was abandoned, and is now
offered for sale, while its congregation joined the one at Tekonsha.

Rev. James W. Reid was appointed September 15, 1869 ; Rev. C. H. Ellis came
next, September 13, 1870. The pastors since Mr. Ellis have been Revs. A. H.
Gillett, I. R. A. Wightman, Aaron Hunsberger, M. S. Merritt, G. C. Draper, and
E. L. Kellogg, the latter being the present pastor. The present membership of
the Tekonsha congregation is one hundred and twenty-eight. When the church
was originally organized it had a very small membership. The present appoint-
ments on the charge are Tekonsha and Lyon Lake, the latter congregation having
a beautiful church on section 23, in Fredonia township.

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

was organized March 24, 1847, by Rev. Lewis Mills, a delegate from the pres-
bytery of Marshall. Mr. Mills became the first pastor, and gave one-half his
time to the church at Tekonsha, and the other half to the one in Clarendon.
The Tekonsha congregation organized with eight members, as follows: George
H. French and Sarah D. French, his wife (now of Homer), Simeon Owen and
Eliza his wife, Erastus Allen, Sarah D. Southworth (now of Marshall), Duncan
McVane and David Owen. The Clarendon church afterwards merged into the
one at Tekonsha.

Mr. Mills preached about one year, and was followed by Rev. Justin Marsh,
who had charge about four years, and was succeeded by Rev. Samuel Sessions,
who came in 1851. March 25, 1855, Rev. A. W. Bushnell was installed pastor,
and was followed by Rev. James Walker, February 21, 1858. July 3, 1868,
Rev. E. Roke took charge, and stayed but a few months. Rev. W. W. Collins
was installed January 2, 1869, and afterwards died. March 1, 1871, Rev. James
Dubuar came, and preached for the congregation about nine months. Rev.
Archibald M. Shaw took charge April 13, 1872, and was followed December 5,
1874, by Rev. Alfred Bryant. The present pastor, Rev. Peter McMartin, came
in July, 1875, and took charge of the congregation on the 2d of October of that
year. The membership on the 1st of April, 1877, was seventy-six.

A Sabbath-school has been kept up from the organization of the church. Its
first superintendent was John Main. At different times it has possessed libraries,
but at present papers are taken instead.

The congregation first held meetings in an old store fitted up for the purpose,
which was also used by other denominations, although the property belonged to
the Presbyterians. The frame church now standing was built in 1853, at a cost
of something over a thousand dollars. It is surmounted by a spire, and will
comfortably seat about two hundred and fifty persons.

THE REGULAR BAPTIST CHURCH

of Tekonsha was organized July 19, 1838, with the following members : A. N.
Bradley, William Doolittle, Hermonia Chandler, Asinah Tyler, Huldah Crippin,
Permelia Stone, Phoebe Dean, Sallie Bradley, Mary Eldridge, Rev. John South-
worth, Polly Henry, William Cooper, Deborah Cooper, Malina Rogers, Oliver
Southworth, Ruth Rogers, Mrs. H. Bartlett, Sylvanus Hemenway, Benjamin F.
Rood, Oliver Olney, Phebe Shedd, Lydia Annis, Samuel Fuller, Polly Fuller,
Olive Southworth, Robert Rowley, Mary Olney, Sarah Fengle, Rev. John S.
Twist, Desire Twist, Christina Johnson, Elias Wood, Eli Stone, Jonathan Holt,
Oliver Holt, Sophronia Enos, Harrison Loomis, Phebe Loomis, Amy Bidwell,
George Brace, Amanda Brace, — total forty-one.

The first church clerk was A. N. Bradley. The present clerk is Harvey Ran-
dall, to whom we are indebted for the items regarding this church.

The pastors have been as follows : Revs. John H. Southworth, George Warren,
Mr. Bronson, John S. Twist, John Withall, Mr. Burrows, S. E. Perring, John
Seage (?), Thomas Robinson, H. C. Beals, Mr. Prentice, A. M. Buck, John Fer-
ris, J. H. Crooker, J. W. Wynant, J. P. Hunter, and the present pastor, J. H.
Crooker, a second time in charge.

The frame church now standing was dedicated May 25, 1870. It is thirty-

150

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

eight by sixty-one feet in dimensions, surmounted by a tasty spire, and cost thirty-
seven hundred and forty-nine dollars and sixty-three cents. The present member-
ship is in the neighborhood of one hundred and twenty-five or thirty.

A FREE-WILL BAPTIST SOCIETY

was organized May 10, 1869, with twenty-six members. The first pastor was
Rev. F. P. Auguer, and the first deacons Noah Dean and Nelson Williams.
Meetings were held a short time, but no church was built, and finally the organi-
zation was allowed to run down to such a degree that it at last disbanded, and at
present no meetings are held by that denomination.

The church buildings of Tekonsha are tasty and ornamental structures, and
their spires are the first objects seen on approaching the village. The fine brick
school building, the elegant residences, and the substantial business blocks are all
evidences of thrift and enterprise among her citizens. The town is growing
rapidly on the north, and will soon be built up continuously as far north as the
railroad.

Before the organization of the Presbyterian church in Clarendon township, a
Congregational church had been organized, probably about 1834-35, with a
small membership. It only existed a few years, however, and finally merged into
the Presbyterian.

EARLY SETTLERS, ETC.

Ranodyne Shedd was born in Plymouth, Windsor county, Vermont, and left
that State when about sixteen years of age, and came to Warren county, New
York, locating near Lake George. In the spring of 1835 he came to Michigan,
staying through the summer in Marengo township, Calhoun County, and remov-
ing in the fall to Tekonsha. In the spring of 1836 he located land just south of
the village. When he came he was accompanied by his wife and one child, a
daughter. They lived for some time in the village, in which Mr. Shedd had
built the second log house. He now lives east of the town on section 26, where
he owns a large farm, which he has become the possessor of after long years of
hard labor, and is comfortably well off in this world's goods. He is the father of
eleven children, of whom seven are now living, all in Tekonsha township except
one son, whose home is in Girard, Branch county.

When Mr. Shedd came through from New York he brought his family and
household effects in a wagon, drawn by a team of horses, and came all the way
by land via northern Ohio. The trip occupied five weeks, as the roads in many
places were exceedingly bad.

At the first election held in Tekonsha, Mr. Shedd was elected justice of the
peace, but failed to qualify. A young man named Walter North, not aware of
that fact, went to him with Miss Amanda Wilder for the purpose of getting
married, but as Mr. Shedd could not legally perform the ceremony, they went to
Homer, twelve miles away, and were married by Milton Barney, Esq. The first
marriage which was consummated in Tekonsha township was that of Alexander
C. McCreary and Eliza Dean, which occurred during the winter of 1836-37.
Levi Merrifield and Samantha Smith were married at nearly the same time.

The first white child born in the township was George R., a son of Ranodyne
Shedd, and lived to be about eighteen years old. His birth occurred probably in
1836. The next white child was Robert Gleason.

The first death was that of the wife of Oliver Matteson. Mr. Matteson was a
native of Bennington county, Vermont, but afterwards lived in Genesee county,
New York. In 1834 he settled the farm, on section 28, now owned by S. S.
Granger.

John J. James came at the same time, and located on the place which is now
the property of Rufus Osborn, on section 29. Mr. James afterwards removed to
the village. He was originally from New Jersey.

Up to the year 1835 the township remained sparsely settled, but during that
year numbers came in, locating principally in the southern part, seeming to prefer
the valley of the St. Joseph to the higher lands on the north. They made a wise
choice, as the appearance of the country in which they reside to-day will testify.
The land west of Tekonsha village was originally covered with heavy timber, but
a terrible storm at some time previous to its settlement had prostrated most of the
timber, and the track of it is still known as the " windfall."

John Kerr came originally from Monmouth county, New Jersey, and in 1831
located at Rochester, Monroe county, New York. Moved afterwards to Byron,
Genesee county, and in June, 1835, came from that place to Michigan. Four
sons and one daughter accompanied him, the eldest, William H. Kerr, being then
twenty-three years of age. He was born in Monmouth county, New Jersey, Sep-
tember 13, 1811. When the family came from New York they made the trip
from Byron to Buffalo by team, and thence by boat to Detroit. Leaving Detroit
by team, they brought their goods as far as Dearborn, where they became obliged
to leave part of them on account of bad roads. William Kerr says he " made a

pleasure trip back for them afterwards with an ox-team." The famous Cottonwood
swamp, which was the terror of emigrants, is said to have contained but one mud-
hole , but that was the entire extent of the swamp ! The Kerrs followed the old
Chicago turnpike as far as Coldwater, Branch county, and thence came by section
lines direct to the village of Tekonsha. At that time the trees along the old " Terri-
torial road" were marked with the letter " H" for highway, in order that travelers
might not lose their way. This road had but just been laid out west of the Clar-
endon township line, and a few teams had been through, and made a track. At
that time there were very few settlers between Homer, or Barney ville, as it was
then called, and Union City, and only three of them in Tekonsha, — Timothy
Kimball, on the site of the village, and Oliver Matteson and John J. James on
the west. In Clarendon and Burlington townships there were more. These were
on the route taken by the " Territorial road."

When William H. Kerr arrived in the township with his father and the rest of
the family, he was possessed of a wagon and fifty cents in money ! He afterwards
sold the wagon to John Stevens for forty-five dollars, borrowed six dollars extra
of him, and with the amount started for Kalamazoo, and in the land-office there
located the forty-acre lot on which he now resides, it being the southeast quarter
of the northeast quarter of section 29. He only secured this forty by quick
work, as another party, knowing Kerr had his eye upon it, started to locate it
himself. Mr. Kerr heard of it, and by walking night and day got in ahead, and
secured his land. This was in July, 1835. Mr. Kerr has since purchased con-
siderable land in the neighborhood, and although having been once burned out
is now living in a neat residence on the old place, and is happy and contented.
February 19, 1840, he was married to Miss Mary Barker.

After he located his land a log house was built, in which the family lived for
seven years. For the improvements which John Kerr made his son William gave
him one hundred and sixty acres of land in Kalamazoo county, to which he after-
wards removed. He and his wife both died at their son's residence, John Kerr's
death occurring February 28, 1859, at the age of seventy-seven years, and his
wife's (Margaret Kerr) January 12, 1864, when she had reached the age of nearly
seventy-eight years. A son, John D. Kerr, died September 20, 1852.

William H. Kerr prepared the timber for the old Smith & Goodrich saw-mill
at Tekonsha, helped dig the race, and worked in the mill. He also prepared the
timber for the Waldo grist-mill, built in 1850. He made the first grain-cradle
in the township, and did the first turning.

Among the numerous settlers who came into the township this year were
Luther Wilder, Lewis and Levi Merrifield, Horace Merriman, H. C. Lee, Lewis
Fuller, Elisha Russell, John Smith, Lewis Gleason, John B. Bobbins, Eli and E.
J. Stone, and Daniel and Luther Walling.

In the spring of 1836 Rufus and Cornelius Osborn came from Rochester, New
York, with a team of horses, being fourteen days on the way, — eleven from Ro-
chester to Detroit, and three from Detroit to Marshall, at which latter place they
arrived May 3, 1836. On the 4th they came to Tekonsha and looked out their
lands. Cornelius then took a horse and started for Bronson, via Marshall, to lo-
cate their places. On the 7th of May they bought a plow and went to their farm,
where, on the 8th, they began breaking up land. On the 8th of February, 1837,
Rufus Osborn, with his widowed mother and three sisters, removed to the farm
on which he now resides, on section 29. Cornelius Osborn is now living in
California.

Parley Dean came from near Penn Yann, Yates (then Ontario) county, New
York, in 1835, leaving home the last day of September. He brought with him
his wife and five children, three sons and two daughters. The family arrived in
Michigan in October, and during the succeeding winter lived in Lima, Washte-
naw county. In March, 1836, Mr. Dean came to Calhoun County, and hired
Eli Stone to build him a log house on the place where he now lives. In July
of the same year he moved his family from Lima, and settled on the place. He
purchased three eighties of government land on section 20. He had served a year
in the war of 1812, being with the troops "along the line" in the neighborhood
of Buffalo, New York. For nearly twenty years he and his family lived in the
log house which was first built. At present he lives with his wife in a frame
house built in 1849. Mr. Dean was eighty-five years old on the 18th of Octo-
ber, 1876, and Mrs. Dean passed heii eighty-fifth birthday January 15, 1877.
Their children are all living except the oldest son, Nelson Dean, who died April
30, 1870. All the rest except one daughter, Elizabeth, reside in Tekonsha
township. It is indeed a rare occurrence to meet with a couple as aged as are
Mr. and Mrs. Dean, who have for so many weary years braved the storms of life
together. Never, probably, has each grown old in the sight of the other ; and
with an almost equal number of sunsets upon their heads, they linger yet in the
land to which they came forty- one years ago. They have lived to a ripe old age,
and calmly await the coming of the " reaper, whose name is Death," to gather
them to their ancestors who have passed to the " other side." Their lives have

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

151

been useful ones, and may the closing scene be attended with the peace which they
have earned.

The farm now owned by J. B. Bliss was settled in 1836 by David Watson,
who, with his father and his brother William, all located in the township. The
Watsons were from Wayne county, New York, and David and William were
both married when they came to Tekonsha. David Watson and family now live
in Albion township.

Quite a number of settlers came to Tekonsha in 1836 besides those already
mentioned. Among them were William Gordon, Jonathan Enos, Linard Born,
Elias Olney, Samuel Batt, William B. Burrall, Elder Caleb Mills, and John A.
Bice.

Jonathan Enos, one of the settlers of 1836, came from Cayuga county, New
York, with his wife and nine children. Two others were born after their settle-
ment. One daughter is now the wife of Peter Blue, living in Fredonia township.
Mr. Enos died in January, 1848, aged sixty years. His wife is yet alive.

Linard Born settled originally in Clarendon township, in 1833, on Cook's
prairie. In 1836 he removed from there to Tekonsha.

Ira Burley settled in Clarendon township in 1836, and in 1840 removed to
Tekonsha, where he has kept a public house, on section 24, most of the time
since.

John Failing, of German descent, was born in the Mohawk valley, in the
State of New York, and afterwards removed to Clarkson, Monroe county. In
October, 1833, he came to Calhoun County, Michigan, and located on Cook's
prairie, in what is now Clarendon township. In December, 1837, he removed
to Tekonsha, and settled on section 23, on the farm now owned by his son, John
M. Failing, who was an infant eight months old when his parents came to the
county. In February, 1838, Mr. Failing built the log house now standing on
the place. When he left New York he was accompanied by two other men with
their families, — his brother, Abraham Failing, and Linard Born. Mr. Failing
had two other brothers, Benjamin and Henry, who came to the State before he
did, and located, one in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw county, and the other in Homer,
and afterwards Marshall, Calhoun county. When John Failing first came he
stayed on Cook's prairie only the first winter (1833-34), and then went to Marshall
and worked at milling for George and Sidney Ketchum. He was one of the
first millers in the county, and died in 1 843, aged forty-one years. He was the
father of five children, — four sons and one daughter, — who are all living. The
youngest was born the same day its father died. Horace Failing, one of the
sons, is living in Tulare county, California. Another son, J. M. Failing, was in
California from 1852 to 1863. He is now living in the village of Tekonsha,
and is the present postmaster.

Ithamer Granger came from the town of Sweden, Monroe county, New York,
with his wife and seven children, in May, 1841. The family came by boat from
Buffalo to Detroit, and with a team the rest of the way. They located a mile
west of Tekonsha village, on the farm now owned by S. S. Granger. The original
settler of this farm, Oliver Mattison, had cleared a few acres and built a log house
upon it, and Mr. Granger and his family moved into this house and lived in it
until after his death, which occurred in December, 1849, when he was fifty-two
years of age. Mrs. Granger is still living, at the age of seventy-seven, she having
been born in 1800. Six of their children are living, all in Calhoun County, —
four of them in Tekonsha township, one in Eckford, and one in Clarence. The
farms and residences owned by them in Tekonsha are in excellent condition, and
testify to the taste of their owners.

John Bandall came from Sweden, Monroe county, New York, in September,
1842, with his wife, four sons and one daughter, and settled on section 19, where
he purchased eighty acres of land, and became the first actual settler upon it,
although it had previously been owned by Ansel Adams. Mr. Randall was
deacon of the Baptist church at Burlington at the time of his death, which oc-
curred March 19, 1855, when he was nearly sixty-two years of age. Mrs. Ban-
dall is yet living, aged eighty-four. The children are all living except the eldest
son, John G. Bandall, who died about 1842. One son, Harvey Bandall, is pro-
prietor of a store in Tekonsha village.

Among the old settlers who came in 1836-37 were Deacon Nelson Aldrich,
and Heman and John Ellis. The vicinity of Aldrich's settlement is known as
Aldrich's Corners. John Stevens, living on section 21, is also one of the first
settlers.

Luther Willson, now living on section 19, on a part of the old Bandall farm,
is one of the old residents of the county, although he has resided in Tekonsha
but a few years. He came from St. Lawrence county, New York, in October,
1834, while yet a single man. He located eighty acres on the southwest quarter
of section 23, in Burlington township, and in the fall of 1835 built a log house.
He was married in April, 1838, to Margaret Warner, who lived in the same
township. He lived on the place until April, 1869, when he removed to the farm

on which he now resides in Tekonsha. He has raised a family of four children,
— one son and three daughters. The son, John W. Willson, is now living in
Iowa ; one daughter — Mercy — is dead, and another, Josephine, is the wife of J.
C. Blake, of Tekonsha village. Mr. Willson is now in his seventy-third year.
When he came west he came as far as Cleveland by boat, and from thence to
his new home walked nearly the entire distance. After crossing the line into
Michigan he followed an Indian trail. He came through Sandusky and Toledo,
Ohio, thence to Adrian, Michigan, and from there via Jonesville to Homer, which
was then a village containing two or three houses and just having a saw-mill
erected.

Mark Woodruff came from Homer, Cortland county, New York, in 1837, and
was accompanied by his family and his wife's sister, who is now the wife of
Luther Willson. They drove through Canada with a three-horse team, passed
through Detroit, and reached Homer, Michigan, about the 1st of June. They
left home on the 3d of May, and arrived at their future abiding-place in Bur-
lington township on the 3d of June, having been one month on the road. Mr.
Woodruff had five children with him, whose mother — his first wife — was dead.
The family located near Turtle lake, two miles southwest of Burlington village.
Mr. Woodruff died about 1851 or 1852, and Mrs. W. afterwards married Beuben
Beynolds, and lived in Branch county. In 1872 Mr. Beynolds died, and his
wife is now living with her brother-in-law, Mr. Willson, in Tekonsha township.

When they came to the county the Indians were quite numerous, and hunted
and camped to a considerable extent on the shores of Turtle lake. Mrs. Wood-
ruff would occasionally be alone in the house, the children being away at school,
and without a word of warning three or four Indians would open the door and
walk in, creating a great scare for a minute or two. They never did any harm,
however, and never stole anything, but were great beggars. For three or four
years after the Woodruffs came they saw no cultivated apples.

A large tree near the house had a huge eagle's nest in the top, and one day one
of its feathered inhabitants was seen struggling with something in the water of
the marsh, and vainly endeavoring to rise. An old man, named Ingalls, who
hunted and trapped around the lake, happened to see the commotion going on,
and raising his rifle shot the eagle dead, and secured it, together with its prey,
which was found to be a large pickerel, which had proved rather too much for the
eagle to carry off. The pickerel had also " been fishing," and had a sunfish, or
" pumpkin-seed," about half swallowed. Ingalls took his trophies up to Wood-
ruff's house, and its inmates had a solution of the mysterious struggle they had
seen.

SCHOOLS.

In the fall of 1836 a log school-house was built on the site of the present
frame building in district No. 6. It stood a number of years, and was burned
down, and afterwards replaced by a frame building, painted red. The present
house is the third one on the spot, and is a neat frame building, painted white.
The first teacher in the district we are unable to give, but one of the early ones
was a lady named Handy, who taught in 1842.

Schools were started early in other parts of the township as they became neces-
sary. There are now eleven districts and fractional districts, and eight school-
buildings in the township. In fractional districts 9 and 7 the school-houses are
just across the line, one in Fredonia and the other in Burlington.

ELECTIONS.

The first town-meeting was held in the house of Timothy Kimball, which he
had vacated and gone to Indiana. " At this election they failed to administer
the oath to the members of the board of election before proceeding to business,
and consequently the election was illegal. Eli Stone was elected supervisor at
this first meeting. In about two weeks, however, another election was held, at
which Horace Merriman was elected supervisor ; Henry C. Lee, town clerk ; Eli
Stone, Ezekiel Allen, and Horace Merriman, justices of the peace." *

THE FIRST RECORDED ELECTION

was held at the house of John J. James, April 13, 1837, and the following town-
ship officers elected, viz. :

Supervisor, Ai Stone ; Town Clerk, John A. Bice ; Assessors, Jonathan Enos,
Cornelius Wendell, Samuel Pratt ; Commissioners of Highways, John Gr. Parker,
Parley Dean, Daniel Williams ; Overseers of the Poor, Oliver Mattison, Linard
Boon ; Inspectors of Primary Schools, John A. Bice, Ezekiel Allen, Banodyne
Shedd ; Collector, Elijah J. Stone ; Constables, E. J. Stone, Banodyne Shedd ;
Fence-viewers, Samuel Batt, John B. Bobbins, John Gr. Parker, Thomas Van
Scouter ; Path-masters, same as fence- viewers, for respective districts 1, 2, 3, and
4 ; Pound-master, John B. Bobbins.

* Old Directory of Calhoun County.

152

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

The following is a list of the township supervisors from 1838 to 1876, inclu-
sive: 1838, Joseph Hemenway; 1839, Eli Stone; 1840, Ezekiel Allen ; 1841,
Nelson Aldrich; 1842-43, Albert L. Proctor; 1844, Joseph Hemenway; 1845,
Martin Hadsell; 1846, George K. French; 1847-48, Martin Hadsell ; 1849-50,
W. S. Southworth; 1851-52, Martin Hadsell; 1853, Tracy H. Southworth ;
1854, Martin Hadsell; 1855, Henry Phelps; 1856, T. H. Southworth; 1857,
Ranodyne Shedd ; 1858, Zachariah Umstead; 1859, Harvey Randall; 1860,
T. H. Southworth; 1861, W. S. Southworth; 1862-63, Harvey Randall; 1864,
S. S. Granger; 1865-66, A. 0. Cogswell; 1867-68, William M. Dorris; 1869-73,
John S. Patchin ; 1874, William M. Dorris ; 1875-76, A. 0. Cogswell.

Town Clerks.— 1838, John A. Rice ; 1839, Harris C. Goodrich ; 1840, John
Southworth; 1841, John A. Rice; 1842, Christopher Dickinson; 1843, Henry
Proctor; 1844, David Watson ; 1845, Ranodyne Shedd; 1846, Solon E. Rob-
inson; 1847, Wellington S. Southworth; 1848-51, Solon E. Robinson; 1852,
Isaac Soule; 1853-54, Chauncey E. Goodrich; 1855, W. S. Southworth; 1856,
Campbell G. Waldo; 1857, C. R. Strong; 1858, L. D. Rogers; 1859-60,
Charles R. Strong; 1861-62, Oscar D. Smith; 1863, W. S. Southworth; 1864,
O. D. Smith; 1865-66, Charles R. Strong; 1867-68, George Blashfield; 1869,
Harlan A. Main ; 1870-72, Orville L. Howard ; 1873, Jesse B. Aldrich ; 1874,
John Johnson ; 1875-76, Jesse B. Aldrich.

Justices of the Peace. — 1838, Horace Merriman, Christopher Dickinson ; 1839,
Horace Merriman, H. C. Goodrich, Jonathan Howland; 1840, Jonathan How-
land ; 1841, Ezekiel Allen ; 1842, H. C. Goodrich ; 1843, B. F. Rood, Jonathan
Enos, John Randall ; 1844, John Randall ; 1845, Heman Ellis ; 1846, T. H.
Southworth, Martin Hadsell, Henry Phelps; 1847, Ezekiel Allen; 1848,
Chauncey Trumbull ; 1849, Horace Merriman ; 1850, T. H. Southworth, Harvey
Randall ; 1851, Henry Phelps; 1852, Chauncey Trumbull; 1853, Harvey Ran-
dall ; 1854, T. H. Southworth ; 1855, Erastus Allen ; 1856, Ranodyne Shedd ;
1857, Harvey Randall; 1858, T. H. Southworth; 1859, Henry Phelps; 1860,
William H. Perrine; 1861, S. S. Granger; 1862, T. H. Southworth; 1863,
Benjamin F. Weatherbee, Ranodyne Shedd, Charles R. Strong; 1864, W. S.
Southworth, C. R. Strong, C. F. Aldrich; 1865, Barzilla Ellis, W. C. Aikin,
Robert Stainton ; 1866, C. F. Aldrich; 1867, George Howard; 1868, S. W.
Burley, F. A. Granger; 1869, Barzilla Ellis, Jr., W. C. Aikin; 1870, M. H.
Cogswell; 1871, T. W. Tucker, Willis French, C. G. Waldo; 1872, Harvey
Randall, H. A. Main, A. D. Eldred ; 1873, Barzilla Ellis ; 1874, C. G. Waldo,
A. S. Swift; 1875, A. S. Swift, H. P. Aldrich; 1876, A. H. Randall, J. M.
Wheeler.

Constables.— 1838, Ranodyne Shedd, Rutledge H. Enos ; 1839, Charles T.
Hubbard, Thomas Merrifield, Lewis Warner, Rufus Osborn; 1840, Cornelius
Wendell, E. J. Stone, Heman Ellis (tie vote between Rufus Osborn and Luther

Andrew) ; 1841, Lewis Merrifield, Hanson Worth, A. C. McCreary (tie vote
between L. Warner, Nelson Dean, and Ira Mills) ; 1842, Lewis Merrifield, Rufus
Osborn, Sylvester S. Granger ; 1843, Lewis Merrifield, Walter Worth, Horace
Smith, Alvah Keep; 1844, Timothy Watrous, Wilson Dean, Ebenezer Avery
(tie vote between L. Merrifield and R. H. Enos); 1845, William Hughes, S. S.
Granger, Harrison Sprague, Lewis Merrifield; 1846, Timothy Watrous, S. S.
Granger, C. G. Randall, Alvah Keep ; 1847, C. G. Randall, William Gordon,
Lewis Merrifield, Horace Smith ; 1848, David Watson, S. Chase, Horace Smith,
David Pixly, Jr.; 1849, George Howard, David Pixly, J. W. Faurot, Eli Stone;
1850, A. C. Lewis, Lewis Merrifield, John H. Allen, David Watson ; 1851, Isaac
Rogers, A. C. Lewis, R. N. Fiero, John Engle, Jr. ; 1852, Isaac Rogers, George
Born, James Gillespie, Asa Perry; 1853, Charles G. Randall, Ezekiel Allen,
Jared P. Wilder, Charles H. Aldrich ; 1854, Ezekiel Allen, Charles Aldrich, O.
L. Cowles, Elisha Engle; 1855, Ezekiel Allen, Charles Aldrich, A. C. Lewis,
William S. June ; 1856, C. Aldrich, Daniel Amey, C. G. Randall, Levi Merrifield ;
1857, Henry Phelps, Levi Merrifield, Myron H. Cogswell, C. A. Keyes ; 1858,
Levi Merrifield, M. H. Cogswell, Charles Keyes, Watson Faurot ; 1859, John
Fisher, William S. Batt, Simeon Livingston, Denison S. Chase ; 1860, S. Living-
ston, O. F. Acker, Francis Granger, Henry P. Bliss; 1861, C. R. Strong, G. P.
Waldo, W. S. Keyes, James Enos; 1862, G. P. Waldo, J. B. Bliss, W. C. Wat-
son, N. P. Gilbert; 1863, John Perrine, Wm. R. Aurand, S. A. Wilder, C. G.
Randall ; 1864, Wm. Keyes, James Enos, C. G. Strong, S. Livingston ; 1865,
Harlow Holt, J. M. Failing, J. P. Wilder, Wm. Keyes ; 1866, Wm. Keyes, J.
M. Failing, H. Holt, J. P. Wilder ; 1867, L. R. Mills, J. C. Failing, J. P. Wil-
der, H. Holt ; 1868, O. A. Smith, Morton Rice, H. P. Aldrich, Barzilla Ellis,
Jr. ; 1869, S. A. Wilder, Delavan Aurand, C. G. Strong, E. G. Shumway ; 1870,
Thaddeus Heath, E. M. Amey, J. M. Failing, S. A. Wilder; 1871, S. A. Wil-
der, George Gribbins, Harlan Davis, Emerson Rice ; 1872, Peter W. Failing, E.
A. Thomas, George Mitchell, Denison S. Chase; 1873, John A. Dorris, John C.
Failing, Wm. Larzalere, James I. Main ; 1874, H. P. Aldrich, J. M. French,
J. H. Proctor, J. C. Failing ; 1875, John C. Failing, F. H. Cogswell, Thomas
W. Fegles, John B. Bliss; 1876, John C. Failing, Edwin M. Amey, Francis H.
Cogswell, Gottlieb Slyly.

During the war of the Rebellion bounties were voted to volunteers in order
that a draft might not be enforced in the township, and the citizens came bravely
to the front in that time of need. The township has been noted for its patriotism
and steadfast position on the side of the right and the Union. She sacrificed
many of her sons in the long, dark struggle, but mourns them only as having
fallen in a glorious cause. Their forms are gone forever from among the happy
groups which once knew them, but their memory shall never die. Peace be to
their ashes !

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OONYIS TOWNSHIP.

From the establishment of Wayne county, in 1796, to the appearance of the
first settler in the township of Convis in 1855 — a period of more than half a
century — immense changes occurred, and occupation radiating westward from
Detroit, along chosen routes, ultimately reached this section and tested its
feasibility for human support and remunerative tillage. Incidents of the early
day and progress of development unmarked by military events are full of interest
to all classes.

Convis is the central township of the northern tier in Calhoun County. The
surface is somewhat broken in sections 3, 4, and 5, and the eastern parts of
sections 6 and 7 are exceedingly hilly. In the southwest considerable land lies
low, and is marshy, while the southern portion is mainly level. The pioneers
of settlement found the land heavily timbered, and entered, when possible, what
were denominated "oak openings,'* a characteristic of which was the absence of
underbrush, thereby rendering them more easily susceptible to cultivation.

The soil of Convis varies with its surface, and, while adapted to general grain-
raising, is especially calculated for the production of wheat and corn.

The town enjoys a reputation for fine fruit. Baldwins, Spitzenbergs, and other
Varieties of apples attain good size and possess an excellent flavor. A superior
quality of pear matures in this locality. Peaches are raised, but the climate
is not in their favor, and renders the crop uncertain.

Lake and stream diversify the landscape and irrigate the soil. Battle creek
crosses the township at the northwest corner, and a branch of Indian creek
traverses the eastern sections. On the northwest lies Mud lake ; to the north is
Ackley ; Kingdom and Garfield are in the northeast, and Lane's and Potter's in
the southwest. Well stocked with fish, these bodies of fresh water are a favorite
summer resort for those delighting in piscatorial sports. The grazing in the
township is notably good, and sheep-raising constitutes one of the main sources of
revenue. Farmers, in some instances, have large flocks. James Walkinshaw is a
heavy wool-grower ; he has a flock of over four hundred sheep, together with a
fine lot of cattle. E. H. Brown owns from three to four hundred sheep, and W.
G-oss has a large flock. It is notable that few farmers in all this region but have
flocks of sheep numbering from ten upwards. The sheep are known as the
Spanish Merino, a fine-fleeced breed, of hardy constitution. A few fine horses
have been raised, while cattle and swine are raised mainly for home use.

THE ERA OF SETTLEMENT.

Fine timber and fertile soil attracted settlement, and families moved in from
other parts of the State, while some were emigrants from Europe. A furor
of emigration became prevalent, and thousands poured into the State from all
quarters. The closing record of many a New Yorker ends with the phrase
"went to Michigan," and the majority of those who settled in this locality were
from the Empire State.

The pioneer of Convis was Sanford Chaffee, who, with his family, located
in the spring of 1835, on section 3. He had previously resided in another part
of the State, and, having remained here but few years, moved west, it is supposed
to Wisconsin.

James Lane, William Newman, and Paul Moss were the next pioneers. Lane
came direct from England. Six weeks were occupied on the passage ; a day or
two passed in New York, and then the westward journey was begun. He was
induced to emigrate by the representations and action of a former neighbor who
had come out the previous year, and had sent to England for his family, which
accompanied the Lanes west. The emigrants reached Marshall November 5
1835, and there remained pending land entry and the erection of a log house.
His entry was on section 27, and comprised the east half of the northeast
quarter. About December 1, the habitation being made ready, the family
moved in and took possession.

Paul Moss was engaged to convey Mrs. Lane, her child, and a few household
goods and needed provisions. Lane went in advance to kindle a fire, but found
the interior of his rude structure filled with snow, which it was his first care to
remove. The-pioneer home was in size twelve by ten feet. In one corner was the
stone fireplace, whence the ascending smoke found exit from a hole in the roof.
Two large chests served as a bedstead, and a third for a table. For lack of
straw, the " cat-tails" from a marsh near by were used as bedding, and two large
20

umbrellas were spread over the bed to protect its inmates from the leaky roof dur-
ing rainy weather. These primitive accommodations served until the completion
of a substantial log house. House furniture was in keeping with circumstances.
Bedstead and table were made of tamarack poles from the swamp. Chairs,
unfinished, were purchased at a cost of six shillings each, from a Mr. Lucas, of
Belleview.

The route of emigrants from the east was past his door, and many calling
for food, Mrs. Lane derived quite a revenue from the sale of pumpkin pies,
at sixpence each. Almost compelled by the necessities of travel to keep a public
house, the greatest difficulty was to find provisions sufficient to meet the demand.
On the lake, near by, was the dome of a muskrat-house ; this was used to indicate
the halfway-house where teamsters stopped to feed their horses.

Indians under the influence of liquor were dangerous. On one occasion, a
party on their way to Marshall stopped and sold some maple-sugar ; the proceeds
were expended in the purchase of liquor. Returning at evening, they called for
more liquor and were refused. They attempted to help themselves from some
kegs resting upon a corner shelf, but were restrained and pushed from the room.

While Lane held the door, he directed his wife to seek safety in the loft. A
heavy piece of wood, smashing in the window, fell upon the floor; at the same
time strong effort was made to reopen the door. Overpowered, Lane retreated to
the loft, pulling the ladder up after him. The Indians rushing in, seized a keg
of brandy, which was borne off with terrific and exultant whoops. After a time,
Lane descended from the loft, and having concealed his wife and child in
the woods, went in search of assistance. He called on Moss, his nearest neighbor,
a mile distant, and on Sanford Chaffee, five miles away, and his second nearest
neighbor. The Indians did not return, and the keg was found some time after,
empty.

Lane procured a large dog, which was chained near the door. One day some
Indians passing angered the creature, which broke his chain, and bounding upon
an Indian dragged him from his horse. From that time annoyance ceased, and
those passing made a circuit to the rear of the house. The demands of custom
at times exhausted the supply of flour, and, in one instance, compelled a Sunday
morning's walk to Marshall to obtain from the miller suflicient to last the family
through the day.

After a sixteen years' sojourn in the log house, removal was made to a large
frame structure, in which a tavern was kept until 1862.

William Newman came to Convis, from England, some time before his family,
which consisted of two sons, men-grown, and one daughter. One of the youno-
men was accidentally killed by the unexpected falling of a tree which had lodged
against another and gave way while he was underneath. The family moved from
the township in time, and it is supposed went west.

Moss settled on section 26. Of a family of five, but one, George, is now livin^ ;
he resides in the township.

Daniel Beers settled on section 24 during the spring of 1836, and about the
same time Asahel Hawkins moved with his family upon the same section. The
latter was from Saratoga county, New York. He formed one of a party destined
for Michigan, and save a temporary delay, caused by a break in the Erie canal,
made the journey without difficulty. Arrived at Convis, he entered eighty acres,
and alternated in clearing a portion of it and in splitting rails for neighboring
settlers. In this way a considerable tract was prepared for crop the first year.
Mr. Hawkins has been active and influential, and until recently a constant occu-
pant of public office. His land has proved productive and has grown valuable.
It is his present home, shared by wife and daughter.

Gilbert King, of Marshall, moved into Convis, made a brief stay, and removing
into Iona county there died. John King, a brother to Gilbert, moved in 1835
from Tompkins, New York, to Marshall, and there resided until 1848, when he
purchased eighty acres in Convis, where he has since resided.

In 1836 Convis received quite an accession to its population. Amon°- the
arrivals were Hiram and Elisha Brace, Jesse Smith, George Bentley, T. J. Van
Geisen, Jasper Haywood, Philander Brooke, Wessel Smith, and Granville Stowe.
During the year following settlement was made by B. Austin, Ira H. Els-
worth, William Kinyon, Levi Rowley, Leach S. Loomis, Allen Mattison, Nathan
Chidster, and Levi Eaton. Of all these families, but one or two are residents of

153

154

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Convis, and but few of the county. Increased numbers and extended area called
for the organization of a new township. The matter was placed in the hands of
General Ezra Convis, then a member of the State legislature. Convis died, and
the business was presented by another member, who in honor of the general
proposed Convis as the township's name, a title by which the civil division has
since been known. During the winter of* 1836 and 1837, George and Joseph
Bentley purchased the land originally entered by Gilbert King — it was a quarter
of section 36. On this land they settled, but the former soon removed to
Marshall, where he still resides. Well qualified for a business career, his life has
been active, and he now fills the honorable position of president of the National
City bank of Marshall. Joseph purchased the farm of Hiram Brace, where
having resided until 1868, he moved into Marshall township and bought the
farm— his present home. While at Convis he was considered a prominent
man, and served seven years as supervisor. He has two sons, John, now assistant
cashier in the National bank, and Charles, a farmer in Marshall.

Ezra Brackett, in 1838, settled on section 34, and built a log house for his
habitation. Upon his land was an Indian burial-place. Graves opened disclosed
skeletons placed in sitting posture upon poles covered with wicker-work composed
of twigs. The chiefs were buried in a style more formal, a framework being built
about them.

William Goss, formerly of New York, was here an early settler. Working
for eleven years as a farm hand, he had saved two hundred and fourteen dollars,
and, traveling by canal and packet, reached Detroit, whence he came on foot. He
examined timber land, which failed to satisfy him, and finally bought his present
homestead in the northwest part of the town. He is a present owner of several
fine farms in Convis and townships adjoining.

Henry C. Potter and mother left Saratoga county, New York, in 1851. They
came through from Detroit with horse and buggy, and oil the arrival of their
goods moved into a log house. Mr. Potter obtained a yoke of oxen, and began
hauling wood into Marshall. For his first load he could find no purchaser, and,
hauling it a short distance from the town, he unloaded and returned home. A few
days later he tried another load, hoping to sell both, but found to his chagrin
that his wayside deposit had been removed. However, the one load was sold and
a trade was secured by which several hundred cords were sold. In the fall of
1852 an exhibition was announced at the Cleveland school-house. Mr. Potter
was chosen driver by the party attending. A long wagon was procured, to which
eight yoke of oxen were attached. The conveyance was occupied by nearly two
score of young people, and the drivers were mounted. A pleasant time was
enjoyed. Mr. Potter, on September 9, 1858, was married to Carrie L. Lane,
daughter of James Lane. His course has been honorable and prosperous. His
farm is equal to the best in Convis.

A BARBECUE.

In 1859 politics ran high, and the partisans of Buchanan, presidential candi-
date of the democracy, being victors, celebrated the event in Convis by a barbecue,
at which an ox was roasted, speeches made, and a general good time enjoyed.

The first death in Convis, so far as known, was that of Mrs. Paul Moss, of con-
sumption. The oldest white native of the township is Asahel M. Hawkins, of
Eaton county, who was born October 21, 1836. The first female birth was of
Annie King, now Mrs. Holcomb, of Belden, Iona county. The initial marriage
was on April 7, 1839, between Henry Smith and Lavina Davis. This was fol-
lowed, on June 8, by that of Alexander Merritt and Elizabeth Davis.

Improved agricultural machinery found hearty welcome with Convis farmers.
A Maury reaper and mower, made in Chicago, was introduced by Joseph Bentley,
who also owned the first drill used in the township. It was known as the " Ide's
drill," and is still in use. Messrs. Balcom & Wheeler, of Lee, brought the first
improved thrasher and separator to town. The act was opportune, and for
several seasons a large amount of work was done by the machine.

SCHOOLS.

The citizens of Convis have not neglected the education of their children
through the medium of the public schools. In 1838 Sarah Root, later the wife
of John Yan Buren, taught the first school in Convis, in a small log house which
stood on the corner near the dwelling of Asahel Hawkins She was succeeded
by Elizabeth Farrer. William A. Sweet was the first male teacher. There are in
Convis six school-houses ; two are of brick, the others of wood, and all together
are valued at five thousand dollars.

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH.

There being several persons adhering to the faith professed by the Seventh-
Day Adventists, in Convis township, they organized themselves into a church
sosiety, under the title of the " Seventh-Day Adventist Church of Convis," on

the 30th of January, 1861. The original members were — Thomas Lane and wife,
William Smith and wife, Abraham Fitzgerald and wife, John Sisley and wife,
Solomon Sellers and wife, Charles Brackett and his mother Mrs. Mary Brackett.
Mrs. Sarah Lane, Annie Dewitt, Hannah Way, Clara J. Birch, Mary Scott, Polly
Birch, and Olive A. Robinson. The first board of trustees consisted of Thomas
Lane, William Smith, Solomon Sellers, Albert Brackett, and John Sellers. The
present incumbents are Solomon Sellers, Thomas Lane, and Charles Brackett, the
two former of whom have held the office continuously since the organization of the
church.

The first preachers were Elders Frisbie and Cornell, who have been succeeded
by the following : Elders John Loughborough, White, Uriah Smith, John Bying-
ton, I. D. Yan Horn, John Andrews, E. B. Lane, and A. 0. Bursall.

On the 22d of February, 1869, a committee composed of Thomas Lane, Solo-
mon Sellers, and Ezra Brackett was appointed to perfect preparations for a church
edifice, which was erected in the fall of the same year, and on the 25th day of
December following the house was appropriately dedicated to the worship of God.
The dedicatory exercises were conducted by Elder John Andrews. The building
is of wood, on a stone foundation, and cost about welve hundred dollars. It is
located on section 26, on the gravel road, six and one-half miles north of Marshall.

They hold regular prayer-meetings every Sabbath. The present membership
is seventeen, and the church is in a generally flourishing and prosperous condition.

PRIVATE INDUSTRY AND PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT.

The presence of timber and water-power, and the demand for lumber, caused the
construction of a saw-mill by Anson Ackley in 1848, on an outlet of Ackley
lake. It is now owned by D. Hart. A plank-road from Marshall to Ionia was
contemplated, and to supply the plank a company, consisting of Charles T. Gorham,
Asa B. Cook, A. C. Robinson, Robert Williamson, and Robert Hustin, was
formed. This association erected a mill at what is known as " The Junction," on
the line of the proposed road. The mill built under supervision of Mr. Hustin
was supplied with new machinery, which cost three thousand dollars. The
demands of the road gave constant employment to the mill for three years. The
planks were of oak, three inches in thickness. The mill is now in operation under
the ownership of Mr. Peavey, of Battle Creek. The plank-road, constructed by
a joint stock company, was finished in 1853 to Belleview, at which place it was
discontinued, although originally designed to reach Ionia. In 1863 the planking
was so impaired that it was not deemed advisable to repair or renew it. The old
material was taken up from Marshall to the Junction, and the road beyond
abandoned.

Gravel took the place of plank, and toll was collected on the turnpike until
1873, when it became a free highway. The road, called " Gravel " to distinguish
it from others, was extensively patronized as a plank-road. Large quantities of
lime burnt in Belleview were transported on this road to Marshall, and thence
shipped elsewhere by rail. Much lumber was conveyed over the road ; but
despite this patronage, as an investment, it must, in common with hundreds of
others, be deemed a failure. Nevertheless, it was an advance step in improved
roadways, and its projectors are deserving of credit for what they accomplished.

A steam saw-mill was erected by Ware Burch on the Haggett farm, section
30. After several years the machinery was sold to Messrs. Carver & Noyes,
who built a mill about a mile north of the Junction, ran it a year or more, and
then sold to Messrs. Haaley & Green of Eaton county, by whom it was removed
to Olivet.

Mills now running in the township do much business, and their product finds
ready market in the lower townships of the county. A reminiscence of early
times records the labors of William Newman and sons. These parties having
dug a pit of sufficient depth to enable a man to stand erect and grasp the lower
end of a saw placed vertically and held above by another, sawed in this manner
all the material for their house. The old pit is yet to be seen on the farm of D.
Scott, six and a half miles from Marshall.

The first land cultivated in Convis was spaded by Mr. Lane, there being no
plow in the township. Two acres of land were cultivated which had been pre-
pared in this slow but efficient method.

The first framed house in Convis was raised by Hiram Brace in 1842. He also
raised the first barn. The year named was notable for the continuance of winter
weather. Snow fell on November 18, and there was good sleighing until April
6, 1843.

The first brick house was erected by J. Dougherty, and forms part of the
present family dwelling. The second brick structure was the Junction tavern,
built by George Loomis in 1853. It has passed through several hands into the
present ownership of A. Winans. The first burial-ground was located upon the
Callender farm, at a date unknown.

James Lane.

Mrs. James Lane.

. ■- , 'lij<#**jyz$z • 5fi5»r *"' ^ ^-'- "

Seven Day Adventist Church , Town or Convis.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

155

MAIL FACILITIES.

Few residents of Convis but had left behind them kindred and valued friends.
A lively interest in the old homes by the settlers, and in their prosperity by those
left behind, made the transmittal of intelligence by letter an estimable blessing.
Mail was posted and obtained from North Marshall, at an office kept by Jacob
King, until the establishment of a home office by Asahel Hawkins. Under the
advice of Reuben White, his successor, the route was discontinued. Several
years elapsed when Mr. Lawrence, residing in the western part of the town,
received an appointment. He was succeeded by R. Yosberg. T. A. Randall
followed in 1861, and in 1871 Mrs. Eliza Brooks was appointed, and keeps the
office at the toll-gate, south of the Junction.

SOCIALITY.

A desire to improve and to enjoy is natural and laudable. It occasioned the
organization of a society entitled "Mutual Improvement Society," which met
December 1, 1875, and having enrolled twelve members chose the following
officers: E. Wagner, president; Mary S. Wilbur, secretary; and Maria F.
Lane, treasurer. The number of members now enrolled is forty. Walter Scott
is president; Charles Cosey, vice-president; Rosa Merwin, secretary; and Mary
Scott, treasurer. A literary and debating society was formed March 5, 1877,
with the following officers : H. C. Potter, president ; Miss J. 0. Gardner, sec-
retary; and William Ruddock, treasurer. These movements are creditable, and
experience teaches their obvious advantages.

CIVIL GOVERNMENT.

The first annual town-meeting in Convis was held A on April 3, 1837, at the
house of James Lane. The number of voters is unknown, but a full ticket was
chosen, as follows: Supervisor, Elisha Brace; Town Clerk, Thomas L. Yan
Geisen ; Assessors, Asahel Hawkins, Daniel Beers, and Ira H. Ellsworth ; High-
way Commissioners, Hiram Brace, George W. Bentley, and 0. B. Austin;
Justices, Elisha Brace, Daniel Beers, S. D. Bardon, and Asahel Hawkins;
Directors of the Poor, Harvey Parkhurst and E. N. Naramore ; Collector and
Treasurer, Levi Rowley ; and Constables, Levi Rowley and Harvey Parkhurst.
Among present town officers are — Supervisor, Alvin L. Ford; Town Clerk,
Thomas Templeton; Treasurer, Robert E. Cornhurst; Superintendent of Schools,
Charles P. Chidster; School Inspector, Ira 0. Eaton; and Justices, James Hag-
gett, Thomas Moor, B. M. Templeton, and Alvin L. Ford.

Fifty-five votes were cast in 1840. The highest number cast at a town election
was two hundred and twenty-one. At the general election of 1876 the vote was
two hundred and fifty-five.

The following have held the offices of supervisor and town clerk in Convis :
Supervisors.— 1837-39, Elisha Brace; 1840, Leach T. Loomis ; 1841, Leon
Cleveland; 1842-43, Leach T. Loomis; 1844, Jasper Haywood; 1845-46, John
T. Ellis; 1847-48, William R. Carpenter; 1849-50, John T. Ellis; 1851,
Joseph Haywood; 1852, Asahel Hawkins; 1853, John T. Ellis; 1854, Robert
Hueston; 1855-56, John T. Ellis; 1857-59, Joseph Bentley; 1860, John T.
Ellis; 1861-64, Joseph Bentley; 1865-77, James Walkinshaw ; 1877, A. L.
Ford.

Town Clerks.— 1837, T. L. Van Geisen; 1838, Nathan Chidster; 1839,
Asahel Hawkins; 1840-42, 0. B. Austin; 1843, Reuben B. White; 1843-44,
Philo Callender; 1845-46, R. B. White; 1847-48, Asahel Hawkins; 1849,
James Lane; 1850-52, Ira Andrus; 1853-56, R. B. White; 1857, L. F.
Brown; 1858, Ira M. Lawrence; 1859-60, R. B. White; 1861, 0. B. Austin;
1862, Asahel Hawkins; 1863, 0. B. Austin; 1864, L. F. Brown; 1865-68,
R. B. White; 1869, Ira Andrus; 1870, S. A. Randall; 1871, Ira Andrus;

1872, A. R. Upright; 1873-77, Thomas Templeton.

James Walkinshaw was elected in 1876 as representative to the State legisla-
ture.

STATISTICS FROM CENSUS OF 1874.

Population. — Total population, 941 : males, 519 ; females, 422.

Live-Stock. — Horses, one year and over, 406; mules, 4; work oxen, 29;
milch cows, 459 ; neat cattle, one year old and over, other than oxen and cows,
514 ; swine, over six months, 814 ; sheep, over six months, 4761 ; sheep sheared

1873, 6000.

Wheat in the ground May, 1874, 2708 acres ; wheat harvested 1873, 2624
acres; corn harvested 1873, 1208 acres; wheat raised 1873, 33,878 bushels;
corn raised 1873, 75,130 bushels; other grain raised 1873, 21,070 bushels;
potatoes raised 1873, 13,225 bushels; hay cut 1873, 1581 tons; wool sheared
1873, 27,056 pounds ; pork marketed 1873, 99,143 pounds ; butter made, 43,690
pounds ; fruit dried for market, 6100 pounds ; cider made, 453 barrels ; orchards,
408 acres; apples raised 1873, 15,206 bushels; peaches 1873, 8 bushels; pears
1873, 104 bushels ; plums 1873, 29 bushels ; cherries 1873, 232 bushels ; currants
and gooseberries 1873, 192 bushels; melons and garden vegetables 1873, 311
bushels.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

JAMES LANE.

In continuing brief sketches of the aged and influential, we notice the life and
character of a practical and successful man, whose example, known and followed
with assiduity, is a clue to the good fortune, ill-advisedly termed good luck.

Mr. James Lane is an Englishman, born in Great Cumberton, Worcestershire,
in the year 1807. His parentage was of that class whose livelihood is won by
almost ceaseless and often ill-requited toil, from which children knew no exemption.
Into this labor-school Mr. Lane was introduced at the youthful age of twelve
years, and was designated a plow-boy by the farmer who hired his time. Three
years later he entered the service of Dr. D. Haggitt, a clergyman of some celeb-
rity, whose residence was in the town of Persha, in the county above named.

During the last five years of his service with the divine, Mr. Lane was employed
to fill the position of butler. The year 1833 was marked in this individual record
by the marriage of James Lane to Sarah Finch, of Forrest Row, Sussex county,
and by their removal to London, where temporary employment was found in
supplying citizens with milk. In poor health, he looked hopefully to its improve-
ment by a change of residence from his island home to distant America. Arrived
in New York, he found himself among people unlike his conception of American
life, whose untiring activity gave a fresh impetus to his ambition. He directed
his course westward to the State of Michigan, and reached Marshall on November
5, 1835, his cash capital sixty-two pounds, which were at once put to use in
the purchase of land, of which he procured seventy-four and three-quarters acres,

situated on section 27, in what is now the town of Convis. Well versed
in the duties of a landlord, he opened and conducted a public house, which for
many years became a favorite resort of the traveling public, and conduced to
extensive acquaintance with the community at large. Combining agriculture
with inn-keeping, the products of the field bountifully supplied good cheer for
the table and enhanced popularity, which was manifest in his election to fill many
offices of trust in the township. Recently, an attack of paralysis rudely
announced the uncertainty of life, and with shattered constitution he awaits the
inevitable and unexceptional call to give an account of his stewardship to his
Divine Master.

Four sons and a daughter are living. The oldest, Thomas, was born in London,
on October 20, 1834 ; was married on December 27, 1856, to Maria L. Alton^
and resides in Convis on the old farm. C. James Lane was born on June 27
1837 ; married in June, 1869, Cornelia Cook, of Eaton county, in which county
he is a practicing physician. Caroline, the only daughter, was born on August
31, 1840 ; she was married on December 9, 1859, to Henry Potter, a resident of
Convis. Edward F. was born November 24, 1842, and is now living in Convis;
having, in May, 1871, married Milly Baldwin. And William A., born March
31, 1845, married August 23, 1870, to Jennie Hill, is known as a reputable
physician and good citizen.

The portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Lane, seen in this work, present the features
of those in whom these lines have induced an interest, and to acquaintances recall
the original.

156

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

JAMES WALKINSHAW.

As an example of successful thrift, and to show what industry combined with
good management and steady perseverance will accomplish, we present to our
readers a brief history of the life of James Walkinshaw, one of the foremost
farmers of Calhoun County. He was born in the parish of Boithwick, Mid
Lothian, Scotland, July 15, 1810, amid the bloom of the heather, and was edu-
cated at the common schools of the country. At twelve years of age he was
apprenticed to the trade of a bookbinder, at which he wrought four years, and
then, in 1826, removed with his parents to Fifeshire, and with them settled in
the village of Lochgelly, parish of Auchterdern, where he engaged in the business
connected with the coal-works of his father, and remained so engaged until 1842.
In 1835 he was united in marriage with Jeannette, daughter of John Henderson,
of Fifeshire, where she was born on the sea-coast in the year 1817.

In 1842, Mr. Walkinshaw, with his wife and four children, born to him in
Lochgelly, emigrated to America, arriving in Detroit in June of the same year.
He removed to Marshall two weeks afterwards, and was employed by the State
railroad authorities as warehouseman at that place for five years, and at Kala-
mazoo for one year, till the road was sold to the Michigan Central Company,
when he went to his farm in Convis, whither he had sent his family on his re-
moval to Kalamazoo.

His first purchase was eighty acres, and since then he has added to his original
purchase seven hundred and twenty acres, owning at the present time eight hun-
dred acres, the greater portion of which is under cultivation, and all of which,
with the exception of about fifteen acres, was partially broken up, being wild
land. In the midst of this extensive tract of well-tilled and well-kept land stands
the commodious and elegant farm-house and capacious barns of the proprietor, a
view of which we present on another page. He has raised large flocks of sheep
and fine herds of cattle, from which the bulk of his profits has come, and by
which he has added his later purchases of farms. He has at the present time
over four hundred sheep and a large herd of good cattle. He had little else be-
sides his energy and good judgment to begin life with in the west, and has made
all of his fine property in the space of thirty-five years by legitimate farming and
stock-growing.

Mr. Walkinshaw is a Republican in politics, and has been ever since that party
rose, having been a member of the Whig party previously. He has held the
office of supervisor of Convis twelve years, besides many of the minor offices of
the township. In 1876 he was elected a member of the lower house of the State
legislature of Michigan from the first district of Calhoun County, and was prompt
and faithful in the discharge of his duties to the people. During a session of one
hundred and forty days he was absent but one day on leave, and that was asked
for and granted on account of sickness. This is a record to which his constituents
can and do point with commendable pride, when contrasted with the record of the
majority of the legislators of the session of 1877. Mr. Walkinshaw has been a
member of nearly all of the State conventions of the Republican party for the
past fifteen years, and is regarded as one of the prominent men of that party in
the county.

The most remarkable record made by Mr. Walkinshaw, and especially to be re-
garded in what some are pleased to call "these degenerate days," is yet to be
given. He is the father of fourteen living children, eight sons and six daughters,
all well located, and, with one exception, residents of Calhoun County. By his
first wife, Jeannette Henderson, he had born to him the following children in
Scotland : John, Euphemia, now Mrs. Henry De Mott, James, and Henry. In
Calhoun County, David, and Anna, now Mrs. Albert Vary, of Marshall. By his
present wife, Jemima Beatson, daughter of David Beatson, and a native of Fife-
shire, where she was born in 1827 or 1828, and to whom Mr. Walkinshaw was

married in 1850, there have been born to him the following children in Calhoun
County: George, Charles, Betsey, Mary, William, Hannah, A. Lincoln, and
Helen, all of whom are now living. A daughter, the youngest of the flock,
Jemima, born about 1872-73, died at two years of age, the only death in the
family. The sons are all married except the eldest, John, and the youngest,
Abraham Lincoln. The daughters of the second marriage are unmarried, and
reside under the paternal roof-tree.

Mr. and Mrs. Walkinshaw are members of the Presbyterian church, and Betsey,
one of the daughters, is a Baptist.

No better idea can be had of successful farming than can be gained by a drive
about Mr. WalkinshaW's broad manor, kept by him and his sturdy sons in the
best possible condition. Roomy sheds and out-houses shelter the farming im-
plements, which are housed when not in use ; and his barns are ample even for
the great demand made upon them for shelter for his herds and flocks, and
storage for their fodder and the crops of grain he raises each year. His motto is
that of " Poor Richard"—

" He who by the plow would thrive,
Himself must either hold or drive ;"

and upon that principle he has worked, and upon it has founded his prosperity,
as well as achieved it, he being his own manager and superintendent.

JAMES MAYO.

" Merrie England" was the land that gave James Mayo birth ; the land of
roast beef and plum puddings in their primal condition of excellence ; the land
upon whose empire the sun never sets, in all the journeyings of the earth about
that central orb. Mr. Mayo was born in the town of Fleckwoe, county War-
wick, August 19, 1809. His father was a captain in the British service, and lost
his life in action, during one of the wars of the first Napoleon. The subject of
our sketch, with his mother, emigrated to America in 1826, and settled in Penn-
sylvania, where he served an apprenticeship at blacksmithing one year, and then
started in the business for himself. In 1838, he was united in marriage to Sarah
A., daughter of Eleazer Price, and removed to Hancock, Delaware county, New
York, where he continued to work at his trade six years, and at the close of that
period removed to Buckingham, Wayne county, Pennsylvania, where he remained
until 1849, engaged at his trade and in lumbering. After severe losses by fire
and flood he resolved to abandon the situation, and thereupon came to Calhoun
County, Michigan, and purchased one hundred and seventy-eight acres of land,
on which he still resides.

The fruits of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Mayo have been the following chil-
dren : Perry and George, born in Hancock, New York ; Addison and Ransome,
born in Buckingham, Pennsylvania ; Josephine M., Charlotte A., James, Luther,
and Arthur, born in Battle Creek township, all of whom, together with their
parents, are now living, except Luther, who was killed by a " runaway" team
when eleven years old, and Arthur, who was accidentally shot and killed when
nine years old. Perry married Mary Bryant, and resides on a farm three miles
south of the old homestead ; Addison married Ada Wallace, and resides in Cher-
okee county, Kansas ; Ransome married Nettie Scranton, and resides eight miles
from his father ; Josephine is now Mrs. William Preston, and resides three miles
from her parents ; and Charlotte and James are unmarried, and remain under the
paternal roof. We show on another page a sketch of Mr. Mayo's elegant home-
stead.

BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP.

This township is geographically designated as town 4 south, of range 7 west,
and is bounded north by Newton, east by Tekonsha, south by a part of Branch
county, and west by Athens. It originally contained all the territory now em-
braced within the limits of Newton and Burlington, the division being effected in
1837. Topographically, Burlington is diversified. The southern portion of the
township is level, and contains some lovely and fertile plains, watered by small
streams, the soil being a sandy loam, in places mixed with clay. The northern
part of the township is rolling, in some parts inclined to be hilly, and is of the
nature designated " oak openings." Wet prairie, located in the northwest corner,
is a fine, level tract of land, under excellent cultivation, and is perhaps the best
a°ricultural portion of the township.

The first settlement of the township was effected in 1832, by Eleazer McCamly,
who emigrated thither with his wife, three sons, and two daughters. Prior to his
actual settlement he sent his second son, Milton, and a man named Bichard Tuck
to enter a tract of land, and they located one-half of section 26. In the summer
of 1832, Mr. McCamly left his home in western New York and moved towards
his new home in the west. He went first to Buffalo by team, and thence by
steamer to Detroit, and from there to the highly eulogized St. Joseph Valley,
in which was located his future residence, by ox-team. Immediately on his
arrival, he and Mr. Tuck set to work and erected the

FIRST LOG HOUSE,

which stood for several months as the sole habitation in all the township. In the
following spring Richard Tuck erected his cabin, and Joseph Sanders his log
house the ensuing winter, although he did not formally enter it until February,
1834. Messrs. McCamly and Tuck vied with each other in the hospitality they
extended for the next two or three years to the settlers who followed ; nor was
Mr. Sanders behind them in this respect. For the first few months he was him-
self under obligations to Horton Warren for a home until he could get his own
ready for occupancy.

As Joseph Sanders is now the only one of the very earliest pioneers remaining,
he deserves at our hands more than a passing notice. He was born in Vermont,
and when quite young moved to Batavia, Genesee county, New York, from
whence he started on the 26th of September, 1833, for his future home in the
west. He went from Batavia to Buffalo by team, and there embarked on the
" Washington," then the largest and best steamer on Lake Erie. After a voyage
of five days he landed in Detroit, and there hired a man and team to bring him-
self, wife, and infant child to Jackson. There he inquired for the best farming
country, and was directed to that portion of the present township of Burlington,
then first known as McCamly's prairie. He induced the teamster to bring him-
self and little family on, and on the 8th of October, 1833, he first set foot on his
present homestead on section 24.

Horton Warren and wife arrived in the spring of 1833, and " squatted" on
section 33, where they built a small shanty, and afterwards became permanent
settlers. Justus Goodwin also came the same year, and settled on section 28, on
the farm now owned by H. R. Parsons. Elijah Olmstead came in 1833, but left
within a year or two.

In 1834 the little settlement received quite an acquisition in the arrival of
William and Ansel Adams and their widowed mother. Perhaps no two in-
dividuals did more to enhance the growth and prosperity of the settlement than
they. They located on sections 33 and 34, on land now included within the
corporate limits of the village of Burlington.

In May, 1834, Homer C. Hurd located on the farm now occupied by George
Page, where he resided until his death. He was a prominent citizen, having
been twice elected to the State legislature. In 1835 numerous accessions were
made, among them being David Dexter, H. P. Jones, scientist and scholar,
Zachariah Thomas, John, Zelina, and Wooster Sanders, G. P. Olmstead, Luther
Wilson (who first settled on section 23, but now resides in Tekonsha). A. I.
Withey settled on section 35 the same year; Sylvanus Reed on section 71,
where he remained till his death in 1872.

In 1836, Reuben Van Vleet came in and settled on sections 21 and 22 ; John

x L. Meserole, on section 15. In September, 1837, Alonzo Collins came in and

settled on parts of sections 27 and 28, and still resides on the old homestead.

In the fall of the year following, Gilbert B. Murray made a settlement on his
present farm on section 6, locating a fractional lot containing sixty-four and fifty-
six one-hundredths acres.

In 1839, Franklin Burnett arrived and settled on section 34, having settled in
Detroit four years previous. He first took up eighty acres, which he has increased
by subsequent purchases until he now owns altogether a little more than half a
section.

Mr. Burnett was born in New York State in 1809, and arrived in Detroit in
1835, having in his possession about ten shillings, which comprised his cash capital.
He left Detroit with a surveying party in 1836, working over a goodly portion of
the State, and looking about him in the mean time for a suitable place to locate.
He took up eighty acres in Union township, Branch county, in 1837, and for the
next two years was occupied in clearing the same of the heavy timber that existed
thereon. He afterwards took up the eighty acres where he has since and now
resides. He has been an industrious and prudent man all his life, and now enjoys
a fair competence and the respect and esteem of the people who know him best.

THE FIRST WHEAT

sowed in the township was by Eleazer McCamly, in the fall of 1833. It turned
out an extremely prolific crop, yielding forty-three bushels to the acre, and was
remarkably free from smut. For several seasons subsequent, however, the wheat
turned out very smutty.

The first corn was also planted by the above-named gentleman in 1833. He
put in an acre and a half, and had a fair average yield. He also put in the first
potatoes, which turned out well.

The first orchard was planted by Cornelius Kirkendall, in 1836, on section 13,
on the farm now occupied by A. Whitmore.

THE FIRST MARRIAGE

in the township was that of Milton McCamly and Lydia Nichols, which was cele-
brated in the spring of 1834. All the settlement was present, and a right jolly
time was enjoyed. Squire Benjamin T. Dwinell, who resided in the neighborhood
of Ceresco, performed the ceremony. The parties to this interesting contract are
both dead.

The first male birth was that of William, son of Horton Warren, who was born
in May, 1835.

The first female child was Laura, daughter of William Adams, born in the
summer of 1835.

The first death was that of Mrs. Zachariah Thomas, who died in 1837, and was
interred on her husband's farm. The remains were afterwards transferred to the
village burying-ground, where they now repose.

The first frame house was erected by David Dexter, on the present site of the
residence of Manassah Edmunds, in 1837.

THE FIRST SAW-MILL

was erected on the St. Joseph river, in the present village of Burlington, by Wil-
liam and Ansel Adams, in 1837. It remained in operation until destroyed by
fire about 1850. The foundation escaped comparatively uninjured, and the
same parties erected the upper portion of the present structure the same year. It
passed through several hands until purchased by the present proprietors, Able,
Hall & Gath.

THE FIRST GRIST-MILL

was erected by Rufus Osborn, in 1861. It is a frame structure, and has two
run of stone. The property was subsequently purchased by Pierce & Hobart,
who conducted the business awhile, when the present proprietor, Albert Marble,
came into possession of it by purchase, and has since owned and operated it. The
amount of grist of all kinds made during the year ending December 31, 1876,
was fifteen thousand bushels.

THE FIRST TAVERN

was a plain unpretentious log house, erected and kept by David Dexter, on a lot
of land purchased of Joseph Sanders in 1835. It stood near the present site of
the Eastern hotel, in the village of Burlington, on section 24.

157

158

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

The first road surveyed in Burlington of which any record exists was the
" David Coddington road," which was surveyed January 16, 1835. The minutes
of the survey are as follows :

" Commencing in town 4 south, of range 7 west, near or on the township
line, between sections 5 and 6 ; thence south one hundred and sixty chains ; thence
south 30°, west thirty-one chains ; thence south 62°, west eighty-one chains,
which takes it out of the township."

THE FIRST BRIDGE

was that over the St. Joseph, at Burlington village, in 1838, by William and
Ansel Adams. It was a good, old-fashioned structure, and did duty for thirty
years, until superseded by the present bridge, which was built by Luther Pierce
in 1868.

EDUCATIONAL.

The first school taught in Burlington was in a log school-house erected on the
present site of the village, in 1837. It was taught by Miss Mary Buckingham,
now the wife of B. F. Root, residing in New York State. Among the first
scholars were Luther and John Pierce, Francis and Rodney McCamly, Lina
Pierce, Adeline Sanders, Peter Houghtaling, Joseph Sanders, Jr., Richard and
Ephraim Thomas, Cornelia Houghtaling, Roland and Charles Tyler. This school
answered the requirements of the settlers until the regular organization of the school
districts, which was effected on the 9th of April, 1839, as shown in the subjoined
extract from the township records :

"At a meeting of the inspectors of primary schools, held April 9, 1838, pre-
sent, E. A. Hayden, L. Ercanback, and Josiah Bradish. The board organized
by appointing E. A. Hayden chairman for the ensuing year.
" Ordered, that the school districts shall be as follows :

"District No. 1 shall embrace sections 24, 25, 36, 23, 26, and 25 ; district
No. 2 shall embrace sections 22, 27, 34, 21, 28, 20, 29, 32, 19, 30, and 31;
district No. 3 shall embrace sections 6, 7, 18, 5, 8, and 17 ; district No. 4 shall
embrace sections 4, 9, 16, 3, 10, and 15; district No. 5 shall embrace sections
,1, 2, 11, 12, 13, and 14.

" All in town 4 south, of range 7 west.

" E. A. Hayden,
"Jonah Bradish,
"Lorenzo Ercanback,

" Inspectors of Schools."
CIVIL ORGANIZATION.

Burlington was organized in the winter of 1836-37, and the first township
meeting for the election of township officers was held at the school-house, " near the
residence of William Adams," on the 3d day of April, 1837. We quote from
the township records as follows :

" The first township meeting organized by appointing Justus Goodwin, modera-
tor, Otis C. Freeman, clerk, and Homer C. Hurd, Abram Kimble, Ansel I.
Withey, inspectors of election.

" On motion, it was voted that there be three assessors elected.

" Yoted, that the township be divided into four road districts of three miles
wide, running east and west ; and further, that the south two districts be divided
through the centre from north to south.

" Yoted, that there be two persons elected constables.

" The following persons were then duly elected to the offices opposite their
names, viz. :

" Justus Goodwin, supervisor ; Otis C. Freeman, township clerk ; Justis Good-
win, Zelina Sanders, Moses S. Gleason, justices of the peace ; William Adams,
Chester Caldwell, Asa E. Phelps, assessors; Justus Goodwin, Abram Kimble,
and Eleazer Donnelly, commissioners of highways ; Levi Houghtaling, collector ;
Otis C. Freeman, Abram Kimble, and Moses S. Gleason, school inspectors; Levi
Houghtaling and David Dexter, constables ; Ansel I. Withey and Zelina Sanders,
overseers of the poor ; William Pierce, Reuben Yan Yleet, Sylvanus Reed, G. P.
Olmstead, Horton Warren, Moses S. Gleason, were elected to the offices of over-
seers of the highways and fence-viewers in their respective districts, which were
numbered in the order as their names appear.

" Yoted, that the township pay for a certain bridge over the Nottawa, after
deducting the road-tax due from persons working on the same, out of the tax now
due from non-residents, at five shillings per diem. Said bridge is in section
No. 4.

" Yoted, that the township raise one hundred dollars for building a bridge over
the St. Joseph river, between sections 23 and 24.

" Yoted, that a bounty of five dollars be allowed for the scalp of each wolf
killed in this township.

" Yoted, that the next township meeting be held at the house of G. P.
Olmstead. Adjourned.' '

The supervisors, township clerks, and justices of the peace who have served
the township from 1835 to 1877 inclusive, are as follows :

Supervisors. — Justus Goodwin (eight years), Homer C. Hurd (eight years),
Alonzo Collins (three years), William Adams, E. A. Hayden (five years), Albert
Marble, 0. B. Yosburgh, Charles E. Harvey, Martin Hadsell (two years), M. S.
Barton (two years), Thomas D. Johnson (four years), William D. Wood.

Clerks. — E. A. Hayden (two years), Josiah Bradish, William Adams (four
years), Stephen Ladow (two years), Charles Buckingham, Levi Houghtaling (four
years), Purdy P. Wood, C. W. Stanbro, Homer C. Hurd, E. N. Edmunds (five
years), Ulysses S. Brewster, J. M. Leonard, Sidney D. Rodgers, Charles A. Hol-
den, Solomon Haybarger, Robert L. Watkins, Earl Smith (two years), George H.
Green, M.D. (two years), J. D. Spoor (two years), Dallas M. French.

Justices of the Peace. — William Adams, Rufus Cleaveland, Palmer Olmstead,
E. A. Hayden (eight years), Purdy P. Wood (eight years), Justus Goodwin
(eight years), Thaddeus Underwood, John Leonard, Josiah Wilcox, William Wil-
lack, Charles Buckingham (eight years), Gilbert B. Murray, Charles W. Chaffer,
Samuel Kinny brook, L. B. Wells (eight years), Allen Wood, Orville B. Yosburgh
(eight years), Robert S. McCoy, John M. Leonard, Stephen A. Ladow (vacancy),
John D. Spoor (eight years), G. W. Rice, Benjamin C. Loomis, Alonzo Collins
(three years), Jonathan Lantz (two years), Charles G. Randall (three years), Wil-
liam Burlingame (two years), William S. Barton, Joseph Eddy (vacancy), J. M.
French, Riley Bennett, Edgar Randall, W. S. Barton, L. B. Jenner (eight years),
and present incumbent, and also two last preceding.

BURLINGTON YILLAGE.

The site of the present village of Burlington was included in the original pur-
chase of William and Ansel Adams, and is located partially on sections 23 and
24, 25 and 26. It was first settled as early as 1833, but was not surveyed and
laid out as a village until May, 1842. The first house erected in the village
proper was by William and Ansel Adams, the proprietors, in 1838. It was a
frame structure, and was used as a dwelling by them jointly.

THE FIRST 16 STORE

was built and occupied by J. B. Tucker, in 1843. It was a small building, and con-
ducted on a very limited scale. Prior to this, in 1834, Justus Goodwin had built
a twelve by twelve feet shanty, which he stocked with a few remnants of goods,
such as calico, ribbons, beads, whisky, etc., which he had at Ann Arbor, and
traded with the Indians in this locality for furs. The noble red men used fre-
quently to get gloriously drunk on Goodwin's whisky, and the hilarity caused
some consternation among the female portion of the settlement. Justus Goodwin
was a man of some prominence in this State, and also in Burlington township,
having served for several years as agent of the State prison, and was frequently
elected to offices of trust in his township. Rush, in his " Historical Directory,"
describes him as " a keen, shrewd, energetic, unprincipled man, who figured quite
largely in public matters until the people lost confidence in him, when he left
and went to Texas, where he died."

THE FIRST CHURCH EDIFICE

erected in the village was that belonging to the Baptist society, which was built
in 1841.

THE FIRST SCHOOL-HOUSE

was that already mentioned as having been erected in 1837, and taught by Miss
Mary Buckingham.

THE FIRST BLACKSMITH

was Alexander Brock way, who came in 1842, and opened a shop in the village.

THE POST-OFFICE

at Burlington was first kept by Levi Houghtaling, who has since been succeeded
by Stephen Ladow, Mr. Perry, William Niblac, E. N. Edmunds, Robert Watkins,
A. L. Fox. M.D., the present incumbent. The amount of business done at the
office from April 1, 1876, to April 1, 1877, was as follows : postage stamps of all
denominations, $336.25 ; registered letters received, 272 ; forwarded, 60. It is
not a money-order office.

THE FIRST TAVERN

was that kept by David Dexter, near the present site of the Eastern hotel, kept
by Mr. Harvey.

INCORPORATION.
The dignity of an incorporated village was conferred upon Burlington in March,
1869, and the first meeting for the election of charter officers was held on the
31st of March of the same year. The officers elected were J. D. Spoor, presi-
dent ; Earl Smith, A. H. Grattan, R. F. Watkins, trustees (for one year) ; Wil-

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

159

liam Elwood, J. M. French, and Henry Smith, trustees (for two years) ; E.
Randall, marshal ; J. C. Holmes, clerk (by appointment). The officers elected
at the spring election, in March, 1877, were DeWitt C. Able, president; S. A.
Henry, Augustus Randall, C. G. Hayden, G. R. Burleigh, Milton Engle, and
Seymour N. Hall, trustees ; M. H. Edmunds, marshal ; George W. Spoor, clerk
of the board per appointment ; E. N. Edmunds, treasurer ; G. H. Green, assessor.
The village has prospered very materially since its incorporation. It now con-
tains four general stores, — one drug-, one hardware-, two boot- and shoe-stores ; one
saw- and one grist-mill, one shingle- and planing-factory, one canned-fruit factory,
three blacksmith-shops, two carriage- and wagon-shops, an express office and a
post-office, one graded school and three churches, — Baptist, Methodist Episcopal,
and Seventh-Day Adventist, — two resident physicians, and a population of five
hundred. The estimated amount of business transacted during the year 1876
was one hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars. The long anticipated Mansfield,
Coldwater and Lake Michigan railroad, when completed, will give an impetus to
the growth and prosperity of the place which will be most beneficial to its devel-
opment. Situated as it is, on both sides of the St. Joseph river, it enjoys rare
natural advantages, which can be largely augmented by energetic artificial im-
provements. It is surrounded by a good agricultural country, which is certainly
not the least of its advantages.

ABSCOTA POST-OFFICE.

The present site of the pleasant hamlet generally known as Wet Prairie, but
designated as Abscota Post-office, is located on land first entered by John E.
Westlake, May 24, 1834. In a short time, namely, December 1 of the same
year, David Coddington purchased the land, and he in turn remained until June
1, 1836, when he sold to Abram Kimball. It was while in possession of the
latter, in 1838, that the post-office was first established there, and it was kept by
him for several years. It has passed through numerous hands, until at present
it is kept by L. B. Wells.

THE FIRST STORE

erected here was by T. D. Johnson, in 1867. He ran the same for two years,
when it passed into the possession of the present proprietor, L. B. Wells.

In 1837, immediately after the organization of the township, prior to the estab-
lishment of school districts, a log school-house was erected, and designated dis-
trict No. 3. It was first taught by Polly Lee, now the wife of Rodney Arnold,
residing in the village of Athens.

THE FIRST BLACKSMITH

was Aaron Wells, who erected his shop on the prairie in 1839. He was suc-
ceeded by his son, L. B. Wells, who erected his present extensive smithy in 1861.

THE FIRST CHURCH

was erected by the Protestant Methodists, in 1860. It is a frame structure, and
is still used for the purposes for which it was built. The following year the Epis-
copal Methodists erected a neat brick edifice, which they used until the erection
of the Newton house of worship in 1874, when they sold the building to the
school district, and it is now used as a school-house.

The present population of the hamlet is estimated at two hundred. It is located
in the midst of one of the finest agricultural sections in the county.

RELIGIOUS.

The gospel was preached in the territory now embraced in the limits of the
Burlington charge by the Methodist itinerant as early as a.d. 1832, by such holy
men as Revs. Elijah Pilcher, E. Crane, Josiah Zimmerman, Joseph Davis, Allen
Billings, William Young, John Ercanback, David Thomas, and others, the
greater number of whom have gone to their reward. Their circuit included an
area of territory extending from Jackson county on the east to nearly the quarter
of the circuit of Calhoun County on the north to the State line on the south,
including the whole of Branch county, and on the west including about one-
quarter of St. Joseph county. Henry Colclaser was the first presiding elder,
having been appointed in 1836. The circuit was first known as Coldwater Mis-
sion. It was afterwards changed to Burlington circuit, first as a four weeks' and
afterwards as a two weeks' charge, and connected with Marshall district, with
Rev. Elijah Crane as presiding elder, and was traveled successively by Revs. S.
A. Osborn, M. Hickey, I. Bennett, N. Fassett, 0. Mason (who died before
he came regularly on the charge in 1850), J. C. Abbott, Thomas H. Jacokes, T.
S. Root, C. Mosher, and A. A. Dunton, when it was made a two weeks' charge
and Rev. W. S. Stonex appointed to it, embracing the following appointments,
viz., Burlington, Clarendon, Tekonsha, Lyon Lake, and Eckford. Then Revs. J.
E. Smith and L. Lee were appointed to it. In 1857 Rev. G\ D. Palmer was
sent to the work, but was removed by the presiding elder, and Rev. I. Odell

appointed as his successor. In 1858 Rev. A. I. Ayres shared the fate of Mr.
Palmer, and M. I. Smith filled his place. During the latter pastorate good re-
vivals were enjoyed at Burlington, Tekonsha, Lyon Lake, and Eckford.

It was then again made a four weeks' circuit, and Rev. A. Billings and N. M.
Steele were appointed. It consisted of Burlington, South Newton, Emmett,
Tekonsha, West Girard, Clarendon, Lyon Lake, and Eckford. The following
year (1860) it was changed back again to a two weeks' charge, and Rev. J. I.
Buell appointed.

A large revival was enjoyed at Burlington in 1865. In 1866, Rev. G. W.
Tuthill was appointed, and the church at Burlington was repaired. In 1868,
Revs. M. I. Smith and J. W. Reid were appointed.

At the commencement of the conference year, September, 1870, by the joint
action of the official members of Tekonsha and Emmett circuit, and of the pre-
siding elder, Rev. D. D. Gillett, the Burlington class was transferred from Tekon-
sha charge to that of Emmett. The name of Emmett circuit was then changed
to Burlington, Emmett class having been previously separated from the circuit,
and Rev. Thomas Sprague was placed in charge under the presiding elder. This
change in the work made Burlington charge to consist of the following classes
and appointments : Burlington, Wet Prairie, Sutherlands, Newton, and Caines.
In 1874, however, Wet Prairie and Sutherlands were consolidated with South Le-
roy, and made Newton class, and Caines was added to Burlington the same year.

In 1870, W. H. Ware was the pastor ; in 1871, L. M. Bennett; in 1872, A.
H. Gillett; in 1873 and 1874, E. Marble; in 1875, the present incumbent,
Rev. J. H. Ross.

THE BURLINGTON CHURCH
proper originated in a small class, which was formed in 1835, under the pastoral
charge of Rev. Joseph Davis, in the barn of Eleazer McCamly. The first class-
leader was Ansel Adams. Among those who constituted this little band were
David Dexter and wife, Ansel Adams and wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Sanders (the only
surviving member, and now belonging to the Free-Will Baptist denomination),
Richard Tuck and wife, and Mrs. E. McCamly. The same spring an immersion
took place, at which David Dexter and wife and Mrs. Sanders were baptized.

The class continued to prosper, until in 1842 it was enabled to erect the pres-
ent church edifice at Burlington village. The church has several times under-
gone repairs, notably in 1873, when the renovation was so thorough and com-
plete that it might almost be said to have been rebuilt. The charge now has a
membership of one hundred and fifty.

The present officers are: Trustees, H. J. Smith, E. N. Edmunds, George
Greene, Elisha Engle, and Adam Andre ; Stewards, Elisha Engfc, Nelson Strong,
Adam Andre, L. Barton, and Charles Miller.

There is a flourishing Sabbath-school connected with the church, which has a
membership of one hundred teachers and scholars. Its superintenden t is Nelson
Strong.

BAPTIST CHURCH.

The society of Free-Will Baptists of Burlington was organized at Burlington
village in 1840, by Rev. Elder Limbacker. Among the original members were
Deacon Lineus Cole and wife, Geo. W. Crandall and wife, John Gifford and wife,
Mary Wood, and others.

The first church edifice of the society was erected in 1841, and dedicated the
same year. It served the requirements of the congregation until June, 1874
when the present house of worship was erected, and dedicated on the 26th of
August following. The Rev. R. Dunn, assisted by Rev. I. P. Bates, the present
incumbent, and others, conducted the dedicatory ceremonies. The present pastor
is Rev. Lewis Jones. The present officers are Charles Crandall and Jonas Hall,
deacons ; Charles Crandall, D. F. Austin, B. F. Sanders, Jonas Hall, Ira Cran-
dall, Daniel Sanders, and Joseph Tooley, trustees. The present membership is
ninety-six.

There is a flourishing Sunday-school connected with the society. Charles
Crandall is the superintendent. It has an enrollment of ten teachers and ninety
scholars, and also a select Sunday-school library containing one hundred volumes.
The present church edifice cost four thousand five hundred dollars, and it has an
organ that cost five hundred dollars.

PROTESTANT METHODIST CHURCH.

This society was organized on Wet Prairie (Abscota) in 1840. They formerly
held religious services in the school-house until the summer of 1860, when they
erected their present neat frame house of worship.

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH.

In June, 1857, Brothers Joseph Bates and J. H. Waggoner came to Burlington
and pitched a large tent, in which they preached the Advent doctrines, and that
the seventh day and not the first was the Sabbath of the Lord. They made

160

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

quite a number of converts, who commenced holding meetings in private dwell-
ings three times a week, which has been generally kept up ever since.

In the month of December, 1861, and January, 1862, a more perfect organi-
zation was effected by adopting the subjoined covenant :

" We, the undersigned, hereby associate ourselves together as a church, taking
the name ' Seventh-Day Advent,' covenanting to keep the commandments of God
and the faith of Jesus Christ:

a Joseph Sanders, Mehitable Adams, Betsey A. Smith, Milo H. Leonard, Mary
A. Leonard, Mary T. Marks, Susan Jones, Mahalah June, Cyrus Z. June, Lu-
thera June, S. W. Dake, Daniel B. Webber, Susanna B. Webber, Susan Engles,
Anna S. Leonard."

On the evening of January 7, 1862, an election of officers was held, but as
circumstances prevented the ordination of elders, the church reconsidered their
vote, and appointed another meeting, which was held May 6, 1862, when Brother
John D. Morton was elected elder ; Brother Henry C. West, deacon ; Brother Cyrus
Z. June, clerk ; and Brother Judson Faber, treasurer of the systematic benevo-
lent fund. No regular preaching was had, except on the occasion of their
quarterly meetings. Their preachers are out in the new fields expounding this
doctrine of the second coming of Christ as near at hand. During the past twenty
years, however, they have had considerable preaching by Brothers John Bying-

ton, J. H. Waggoner, Uriah Smith, E. R. Jones, M. B. Miller, Renyon,

and others. E. R. Jones and M. B. Miller were raised in Burlington, and are

both earnest and efficient preachers of their peculiar doctrine. The church now
numbers nearly fifty members. They have a plain, neat frame house of worship,
forty-five by twenty-eight feet, with a seating capacity for two hundred, which
was erected in 1876, and dedicated January 1, 1877.

The present officers of the church are — H. J. Rich, Joseph Sanders, and C.
Z. June, trustees ; Alfred Castle, elder ; C. Z. June, deacon ; Hickman Miller,
treasurer of systematic benevolent fund. There is a Sabbath-school and Bible-
class connected with the church, having a membership of thirty.

STREAMS IN BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP.

The principal stream in Burlington township is the St. Joseph river, which
runs through sections 33, 34, 26, 23, and 24, in the northeastern portion of the
township, leaving the township just east of Burlington village. Running about
parallel with the river is Nottawa-seepe, in the northwestern portion of the town-
ship, through sections 18, 17, 9, and 4, leaving it at the northern line of the
latter. Alder creek waters the northeastern and Turtle lake the central portions
of the township.

We are pleased to acknowledge the courtesy of Joseph Sanders, Gilbert B.
Murray, Alonzo Collins, Franklin Burnett, C. Z. June, and others in the compi-
lation of the history of Burlington.

> aggami

ANDREW GUYER.

MRS. ANDREW GUYER.

FREDONIA TOWNSHIP.

Fredonia was organized in 1838, and includes congressional township 3 south,
and range 6 west. In 1870 it had a population of ten hundred and thirty-one,
which has been considerably increased since. The surface of the township is gener-
ally level, though rolling in a few localities on the west. The soil is excellent, and
well adapted to raising the various products of southern Michigan, and its dairying
facilities are also extensive. On the east the region known as " Palmer's plain' 7
extends for some distance into the township, and the farms and improvements on
this beautiful and fertile prairie are not excelled in the county, nor, haply, in the
State. On the north and west are also fine farming regions, although in a few
places not yet fully developed. Water is afforded in abundance by Squaw and
Nottawa-seepe creeks, and numerous small lakes. Among the latter may be men-
tioned Lyon, Cedar, Long, Fish, and others, and parts of Nottawa-seepe and Brace
lakes also extend into the township. Lyon lake is a beautiful sheet of clear water,
with clean, sandy shores, and very deep. It is a great resort for pleasure-parties
during the summer season, as it abounds in excellent fish, and is large enough for
sail-boats. It has lately been stocked with California trout and white-fish, and
the angler may soon be enabled to have the greatest of sport in capturing the
members of the " finny tribe." The lake was named by the man who originally
surveyed the township. His name was Lyon, and he undoubtedly named it after
himself, because of its great beauty. The other lakes in the township are more
or less surrounded with low marsh lands, and are quite shallow. Cedar and Pine
lakes answer for themselves as to the origin of their names. " Nottawa" creek
is called the "worst stream in Michigan," on account of its low, marshy banks,
and the uncertainty as to the exact location of its channel. It drains a consider-
able extent of country, and finally discharges a large volume of water into the
St. Joseph river, within the limits of St. Joseph county.

The timber of the township is yet abundant, and is of the various kinds pecu-
liar to this region, — red, white, and burr oak, black and white ash, some maple,
elm, etc., and occasionally a grove of tamaracks, which abound in the well-known
" tamarack swamps" of this region, formed in the drift-period so many long years
ago. Nowhere in the country can better evidence be found of the terrible grind-
ing and contortions of that period than here in southern Michigan and in north-
ern Indiana. The deep beds of gravel, the many marshes and lakes, the shallow
streams, the great distance to the rock, the detached masses of rock which have
been transported here from some remote country, the sand and gravel ridges and
knolls, and many other peculiarities are indisputable proofs of the mighty throes
which agitated the country east of Lake Michigan when that stupendous water-
filled chasm was hollowed out, and the mass of debris, ground and polished, finally
deposited in the shape we see it, wherever the eye is cast, for many miles.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

The first settler in the present limits of Fredonia township was Thomas Bur-
land. He was born at the village of Biccall, Yorkshire, England, and in 1831
came from there, accompanied by several families who were bound for White
Pigeon prairie, in southern Michigan. Mr. Burland's family then consisted of
his wife and three daughters. On arriving at Detroit, Mrs. Burland was unable
to go farther for some time, and the other families went on and left them. Just
after Christmas they started again and came in a sleigh to Marshall, making a
quiet trip. For about fourteen months the family lived in Marshall, and in May,
1833, removed to the farm on section 24, where Mrs. Burland is still living with
her son William. The latter was bora in Marshall, February 13, 1833. Two
other children were born after the family came to Fredonia. Five are yet living.
Mr. Burland died August 7, 1872, aged seventy-three years. In April, 1833,
before moving his family from Marshall, he and his father, William Burland, Sr.,
built the log house which was the first on the place, rolling the logs up with the
aid of oxen. One log rolled upon the elder Mr. Burland and broke his leg. He
came from England in the winter of 1832-33, some time after his son left.
Thomas Burland located the northeast quarter of section 24, and his nearest
neighbors, outside of Marshall, were Charles K. Palmer and Silas Comstock, who
Hved just east of him in Eckford, having settled there in 1832.

The log house which Mr. Burland built in 1833 stood just east of the site
occupied by the present brick dwelling owned by William Burland. It was used
as a residence until 1861. Mr. Burland was raised a farmer in " Merrie Eng-
21

land," and chose a beautiful spot for his future home on .his arrival in Fredonia.
He owned the first span of horses and the first cows which were brought into the
township ; made a clearing near his house, and sowed and raised the first wheat ;
went to Detroit for plow castings, and had the first plow which was ever used in
the township ; the wood-work to it was done by Colonel John Ansley, who lived
in Marengo township, and to whom Mr. Burland went to have the plow put in
shape for use. With this plow and a strong team he afterwards broke up a great
deal of land for other settlers, and his " breaking-plow" was in constant requisition
during the season for the use of such an article.

Orchards were set out and fruit raised some two years before Mr. Burland had
any on his farm. He was a fine marksman with a shot-gun, — never used a rifle
much, — and killed a great many wild turkeys and the varieties of smaller game.
Badgers were occasionally found, and he killed two and stuffed them for curiosities.

John Houston, Sr., the second settler in Fredonia, was born in Hanover, New
Hampshire, and, when a young man, removed to Rochester, Monroe county,
New York. October 1, 1833, he and his wife, with his three children, left home
and started for Michigan. In the month of November they arrived on the farm
where Mrs. Houston now lives. From Rochester they came to Lewiston, crossed
over into Canada, and came all the way through to Fredonia in a covered wagon.
Mr. Houston had been out in June previous and located his land. Upon it he
built the first frame house in the township, a small structure which is now a part
of the residence of his widow. The lumber he procured at a saw-mill, which
had but recently been started in Marshall by George Ketchum.

In the spring of the fall of 1834, Mr. Houston set out upon his place the first
orchard in Fredonia township, procuring the trees at Jackson. The same season
he also sowed his first wheat. He had located three eighty-acre lots on section
9. He died in the month of October, 1869, aged seventy-five years. His wife,
who is still living, is the mother of ten children, who are all living but one. Mrs.
H. was his second wife. Her daughter, Sarah E. A. Houston, now the wife of
Abraham Van Yoorhees, was the first white female child born in the township,
her birth occurring September 28, 1834.

Ezekiel Blue located land in Fredonia, either in 1833 or 1834. He first entered
all of section 13, except the east half of the northeast quarter, and afterwards took
up a " forty," on section 28, and bought considerable additional land from second
hands. Mr. Blue came from Yates county, New York, with his wife, three sons,
and one daughter, and on the 14th day of May, 1836, they arrived at their new
home. Mr. B. had been back and forth between New York and Michigan two
or three times previous to this, and made necessary improvements and rendered
things comfortable for his family. On a quarter-section he had purchased on sec-
tion 24, of Robert^ Williamson, the latter had partially built a log house, which
Mr. Blue finished up, dug a well, and made other improvements. In the fall of
1835 he had set out an orchard, which is still standing. He was a carpenter by
trade, and had come out that season to build a barn on his place. He could get
his chest of tools brought no farther than Ann Arbor without paying full price
for a load, so he bought fifty young apple-trees and with them completed a load,
and brought them along and set them out, thus securing the second orchard in
the township. He brought cherry, currant, and plum sprouts with him from New
York, and set them out also.

When the family came from New York they traversed the route by team as far
as Buffalo, thence by boat to Detroit, and the remainder of the distance by team,
the trip from Detroit to Fredonia consuming four days of time, which was a quick
passage, the secret being good roads. The route taken by most of the early set-
tlers was much the same as that taken by Mr. Blue and his family. Some came
as far as Buffalo, by canal ; some only to Toledo, on the boat ; others came all the
way through by team, either via northern Canada or Ohio ; while occasionally
some persevering person, with more pluck than pocket-money, walked the greater
share of the distance.

Mr. Blue died January 2, 1846, aged sixty-three years. His wife died Decem-
ber 13, 1845, at the age of fifty-six. Three of their children are now living, all
in Fredonia township, and close neighbors to each other. Peter lives on section
13, Gilbert on the homestead on section 24, and Phebe A., now the wife of George
W. Briggs, also on section 24. The other son, Jeremiah P. Blue, died in Sep-
tember, 1844, then twenty-nine years of age. The farms which Mr. Blue pur-

161

162

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

chased originally are all on Palmer's plains, and are among the best in the
township.

Increase A. Pendleton came from the State of New York, and located on sec-
tion 24 in 1834. His son William, born the same season, was the first white
male child born in the township. The Pendletons left after a few years and went
to Marshall, and finally to Kalamazoo. Mr. Pendleton is now deceased. His wife
was a sister of Charles K. Palmer, who located in Eckford township in 1832, and
from whom " Palmer's plain" derived its name.

Stephen Maynard came to the township in 1836, and settled where he now lives
on section 12, south of Brace lakes, near the Eckford township line.

Caleb Tilton came from Conway, Franklin county, Massachusetts, and in the
year 1831 or 1832 located at Ann Arbor, Washtenaw county, Michigan. After
a few months' stay at that place he came to Calhoun County and settled in Mar-
shall. In 1834 he located land on section 2 in Fredonia township, and in 1835
located the farm where he now lives, also on section 2. His half-brother, John
Tilton, came to the same place in 1835, and Caleb boarded with him, being then
a bachelor.

John Tilton and wife came from Berkshire county, Massachusetts, with one
son, then a small boy. Mr. Tilton died in 1849, at the age of forty, leaving his
wife and three children. His widow afterwards married Caleb Tilton, and they
are now living on the old homestead. The land was purchased from the govern-
ment, the Tiltons being the first settlers upon it. Caleb Tilton has lived upon
the old place ever since he came to it. John Tilton lived in Tekonsha for some
time, and also for a year and a half in Bellevue, Eaton county.

After the Tiltons came to their place, which was in the spring of 1835, they
erected a log house, which stood where the barn now stands. Caleb Tilton had
previously cleared a small piece of ground, the land being in the white oak open-
ings, and not very heavily timbered. Mrs. Tilton says when they came there was
but one house between them and Tekonsha, ten miles away.

Indians were numerous and almost daily visitors. They were usually peaceable.
One day a huge warrior, very drunk, and with an old shawl tied around his head,
turban fashion, sat down by the wayside to " sober off." After awhile he became
thirsty, and going into the house asked Mrs. Tilton for a drink. She gave it to
him and he went out again. Presently he came in for another drink, this time
without the shawl, and still comfortably drunk. He. came a third time and wanted
his shawl, making signs to indicate what he was after, and Mrs. Tilton told him
she did not have it, which was the case. The second time he came in he had
probably taken it off and left it lying on the ground, and some other Indian, on
coming along, had seen it and taken a fancy to it and carried it off. The fellow
was not satisfied with what Mrs. Tilton told him, and went away with many ex-
pressive grunts. Some days afterwards he came back and wished to borrow a
pail, saying he had found a " bee-tree," and wanted something to take the honey
out in. She told him she was afraid to let him have it, for fear he would not
bring it back again, but he said, " Oh, yes ; me bring him back ; me good Injun!"
She finally let him take the pail, and that was the last she ever saw of it, he evi-
dently thinking he had got even with the "pale-face squaw," whom he considered
as having taken his shawl. She saw him once afterwards in a store, but he no
sooner caught a glimpse of her than he vacated the premises, and never showed
himself again in her sight. He was evidently ashamed of the ruse he had played
after having time to think seriously over it.

The Indians Were able to procure whisky at some of the stores in Marshall,
and, after getting filled with "fire-water," were accustomed at certain times to
assemble to the number of several hundred on the plain on the south side of the
Kalamazoo river, build a huge bonfire, and have a noisy celebration. On such an
occasion a white dog was killed, and a weird dance kept up until a late hour at
night, the playing of their feet and the gyrations of their naked bodies keeping
time to the wild notes of a drunken song. Their dance was a kind of hop, skip,
and jump, and their yells and howls made a horrid din which would completely
shatter the nervous system of some of the "fidgetty" people of the present.
Above the other noises could be heard that which was made by beating an un-
dressed deer-skin, which was stretched tight over the end of a hollow log. The
more noise and the fiercer gesticulations they could make the better. As fast as
any of them became wearied and fell out of the line their places were supplied by
others, and thus

" The night drave oh wf sangs an' clatter."

Imagination is impotent to paint the scene which was thus rendered, and no
description can give the fantastic shapes and curious contortions which these wild
denizens of the forest indulged in. It needed to be seen to be appreciated, and
once seen was never forgotten.

In the early settlement of the country, while the tide of immigration flowed
in, every house along the road was a public tavern, and they were all built of logs.
As soon as a house was erected it was little else than a public house in any case,

as it never was known in the early history of this region that a person was turned
away who asked for a shelter. Everybody kept the latch-string on the outside,
and what little the settlers possessed was freely shared with those more needy,
even though it was a matter of serious consideration as to the source of the next
meal. The hospitality of the pioneers was worthy the encomiums of those who
came after, and many a figurative loaf was cast upon the waters of charity, with
no note taken for its return. " Charity suffereth long and is kind" was the motto,
and if the bread did not "return after many days" the feeling of joy at relieving
a poorer individual was at least left as a noble reminder of good deeds.

Nearly every person who came to the country in the spring or summer season
speaks of the wondrous beauty of the landscape and the surprise felt at seeing
such a magnificent region spread out before them. Everywhere on the plains
bloomed countless numbers of wild-flowers, sending forth sweet fragrance ; the
open prairies with a few scattering trees dotted the surface, and the groves along
the streams and on the borders of the plains formed a dark, rich background
of green, which altogether completed the capture of the senses of the beholder,
and rendered him unwilling to go farther lest his dream should be dispelled and
he awake to a realization that he had gone much farther and fared much worse.

The farm now owned by J. A. Polhemus, on section 2, was settled in the
spring of 1837 by Isaac Lewis, who came probably from the State of New York.
None of his family are living in the neighborhood, and, in fact, most of them are
dead.

Sidney S. Smith was one of the later arrivals in Fredonia. He came from
Albany county, New York, in September, 1854. He was born in Washington
county. When he came to Michigan he was accompanied by his wife and five
children, and located first in Marshall, where he lived a year and a half, and then
removed to Marengo township, where he had purchased a farm. He lived in
Marengo until September, 1864, when he came to the place upon which he now
resides, on section 13, Fredonia. The place was originally settled in 1836 by
Marsh Dickey, now living in Sheridan township.

S. Fayerweather came from Fairfield county, Connecticut, in 1838, during the
month of August. He brought his wife with him, and located in the village of
Marshall, where he lived until 1845, when he removed to the farm upon which
he now lives, on section 1, in Fredonia. The land was entered by George
Ketchum, of Marshall, but Mr. Fayerweather was the first settler upon it, and
made the first improvements. He built a log house when he came to the place,
and lived in it for some time. The present dwelling is a frame structure.

William Rowley came from Saratoga Springs, New York, with his young wife,
on their wedding-tour, to Michigan, arriving in Fredonia the 26th day of June,
1837. They came through Canada and all the way from home with a team and
wagon. Mr. Rowley's brother, Benjamin Rowley, had been out before and lo-
cated land on section 22, where he now lives. He went back to New York, and
having married a sister of his brother's wife, they all came west together. Wil-
liam stayed with his brother for some time, and finally purchased the place where
he now lives, on section 10. William Rowley has raised one son and one daugh-
ter, both living; Benjamin is the father of four children, of whom two are at pres-
ent living.

John B. Fredenburg came from Barry township, Orleans county, New York,
in October, 1834, and located one hundred and thirty-three acres on the east side
of section 23 ; the south eighty being fractional, from Lyon lake extending some
distance into the section. Mr. Fredenburg had come with his family from Co-
lumbia county, New York, in 1827, as far west as Detroit; but not liking.it at
that place went back to New York and lived until 1834 in Orleans county.
After coming and locating his land in 1834, he went back to New York, and in
the spring of 1836 returned with his family. A log house was immediately
built, being completed during the first days of June. Six of Mr. Fredenburg's
children are now living, three of them in Fredonia township ; John, on section 5,
Benjamin, on section 23, and a daughter, Ann, now the wife of Nathan H. Hol-
lon, on section 2. Mrs. John Fredenburg is a daughter of Stephen Kimball,
who settled in Marshall in 1831, and helped build the first or. second house in
the county. Old Mr. Fredenburg died in the fall of 1874, over eighty-three
years of age, and his wife died in 1863, aged sixty-five.

The farm where John Fredenburg lives was settled in 1835, by E. M. Hum-
phrey, whose uncle had located it for him in 1834. He was from Onondaga
county, New York.

Thomas P. Briggs came from Milo, now Torrey township, Yates county, New
York, and settled with his family on section 35, the old place now owned by his
son, Thomas J. Briggs. He had, been to the township in 1835, and located two
hundred acres of, land, the same on which he afterwards settled. Mr. and Mrs.
Briggs came with a team to Buffalo, while the sons, Thomas J. and George W.,
came by the canal to the same point. The family, after uniting at Buffalo, came
to Detroit by boat, and from Detroit to Fredonia by team, reaching jtjieir farm on

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

163

the 19th of November. The two sons walked from Detroit ahead of the team,
and made the distance in a little over three days. The family left the old home
in Yates county on or about the 1st of November.

A log house had been built on their farm in the summer of 1836, and other
improvements made. The house was one of the kind so common in those days,
the logs being left with the bark on the outside, and hewn or faced to an even
surface on the inside. A chimney was built of brick, the brick being procured
at Marshall, where they had already begun to build brick dwellings and put on
numerous airs belonging to much older places. The chimney was built in the
centre of the house, and came only part-way down, in order to accommodate a
stove which they had brought from New York.

Mr. Briggs brought a number of plum-, cherry-, and apple-roots with him, and
on arriving at Detroit, had to leave them there awhile on account of bad roads.
He afterwards took them to his farm and set them out.

Three of the five children (four sons and one daughter) who came from New
York are now living, — Thomas J. and George W. (twins), the former in Marshall
and the latter on section 24 in Fredonia, and another son, John W., at School-
craft, Kalamazoo county, where he is practicing medicine. The oldest son, Joseph,
was also a physician, and died at Schoolcraft, whither he had emigrated at an
early day. The daughter, Esther Ann Briggs, died on the old farm about 1846,
while quite young.

When Mr. Briggs came with his family he sowed ten acres of wheat, on land
he had broken up during the summer. He is now deceased, having been dead a
number of years. His mother, Mrs. Audrey Briggs, who died in 1842, was the
first person buried in the cemetery near the Methodist Episcopal church.

George W. Briggs moved to the farm upon which he now lives in 1846,
having the same season married Miss Phebe A. Blue, daughter of Ezekiel Blue.

Frank B. Wright came from Washington county, New York, and removed to
Michigan in 1836. June 1 of that year he arrived in Marshall, then a young
man. Most of the time for nine years he lived in Marshall, and on the 6th of
July, 1845, removed to the farm where he now lives, on section 14, Fredonia.
He purchased the land — eighty acres — five or six years before he moved upon it,
and had made considerable improvements. While in Marshall he worked at
milling. March 23, 1845, he was married to Miss Amanda A. Blodgett. His
brother Julius, now living on the northeast quarter of section 14, came in the
fall of 1836, and for a few years worked in Marengo township. He was also a
young man when he came west. He did not settle in Fredonia until some time
after his brother did. Both their farms are on the beautiful " Palmer's plain."

When F. B. Wright started for Michigan his father took him as far as Saratoga
Springs; and from thence to the junction of the Erie and Northern and Cham-
plain canals he came over a railway, the cars of which were drawn by horses.
This was built to accommodate travel to and from Saratoga. The cars had three
seats, and were capable of carrying nine persons each. After reaching the canal
he took a line-boat to Buffalo, the trip taking six days. From there he came to
Detroit on a Lake Erie boat, and from Detroit he walked to Marshall, making
much better time than the stages possibly could, on account of bad roads.

Mr. Wright's wife (then Miss Blodgett) came originally from Genesee county,
New York, to Ohio, where her people lived for some time. In 1837 she came
to Homer, Calhoun County, Michigan, in company with the family of her brother-
in-law, Harry Grovenburg. A few years later Mr. Grovenburg removed to Eck-
ford township, where he lived a number of years. He is at present living near
Lansing. Miss Blodgett (Mrs. F. B. Wright) is the mother of five children, who
are all living, — the youngest two at home. One son lives in Kansas, where he is
teaching school, and a daughter lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Giddings Whitmore settled on section 6, on the farm now owned by H. N.
Ryder, in 1834 or 1835, having previously located his land. He was from the
State of New Hampshire, and is now living at Battle Creek. The farm is highly
improved, and among the best in the neighborhood.

A man named Sheldon settled a forty-acre lot, adjoining the Whitmore place
on the east, as early as 1834. A Mr. Yan Valen and his son located the same
year, as did also Edward M. Kingsbury, the former on section 4 and the latter
on section 5. The Van Valen farm is now owned by George Bills, who is him-
self an old settler in the county. Van Valen built a log house on his place. He
left the township about 1836-37. Mr. Sheldon, who located on section 6, died
in the township of Newton, about 1836 or 1837.

David Jager came to Michigan from Sussex county, New Jersey, in December,
1836, with his wife and child. They came the entire distance from New Jersey
by team, being five weeks on the road, and coming through Canada instead of
northern Ohio. Mr. Jager is the father of eight children, of whom three are
now living, two sons and one daughter. Mr. Jager had located his land — the
northeast quarter of section 36— in July, 1834. In May, 1836, he came out
again, and built a log house on the place, and returned for his family, coming back

with them in December, as stated. While he was building his cabin he boarded
with E. M. Humphrey, who lived on the present John Fredenburg farm.

Sydney Deuel located a fractional eighty on section 6, in 1836. He was from
the State of New York, and did not settle on the place until some time after he
entered it. He is now living upon it.

Most of the land in this neighborhood was entered in 1834, principally by
New York people, who did not settle until a year or two afterwards.

G. G. Collins was born in Rensselaer county, New York, but for ten years
previous to the time he moved west he had lived in Rochester, Monroe county.
In November, 1835, he came to Michigan, and for a few years thereafter had his
home in Marshall. He purchased the farm where he now lives, on section 17, in
Fredonia, in 1834, from the government, locating one hundred and sixty acres.
About 1840 he removed to it from Marshall, with his family, and has resided
upon it most of the time since. When he came from New York he was accom-
panied by his wife and four children, — one son and three daughters. Four chil-
dren were born in the family after settling in Michigan. Of the eight there are
five now living, — one son, Charles J. Collins, on the old farm with his father.
When Mr. Collins first arrived in Marshall he opened a shoe-shop in that place,
and has worked at the business, both in town and on his .farm, most of the time
since.

The farms owned by Norman and F. P. Ellis were settled by Calvin Cole, about
1836.

In 1842 Oliver Bailey came from Ontario county, New York, and settled on
the farm now occupied by his family. He was afterwards married in Bedford, Ohio,
and his wife is yet living. Mr. Bailey died February 8, 1875, aged fifty-eight
years.

Solomon Platner settled on the shore of Lyon lake as early as 1834. Previous
to coming to Fredonia township he had kept the old " Exchange Hotel," at Mar-
shall, for about one year. His farm is now owned by D. Annis, and is located on
section 26.

David Aldrich came from Massachusetts in July, 1833, and located land on
section 8, but did not settle upon it until June, 1834.

The first death in the township is supposed to have been that of the wife of
Edward M. Kingsbury, who died some time in 1835.

Putnam Root and Hiram Carey settled in the northwest part of the township
in 1834, also Thomas Chambers and Arnold Markham. Ebby Hyde located in
1835, on section 23, where his son, E. V. B. Hyde, now lives. Another son, A.
0. Hyde, resides in Marshall, and is the proprietor of a drug-store on State street.

In the spring of 1836 Alvin T. Bush located in the southeast part of the town-
ship, and is now deceased. During this year quite a number came in, most of
whom have been already mentioned.

Among the early settlers of the township may also be mentioned W. J. Acker,
D. M. Fox, G. W. Hoyt, J. W. Harrington, Thomas Begole, 0. M. Easterly, and
others, some of whom are not now living in the township.

Iron ore abounds to some extent, and is principally of the quality known as
" bog ore." On the farm of Nathan H. Hollon, on section 2, a bank of " red
ore" was opened at one time and a considerable quantity taken from it and'manu-
factured, both at Marshall and Union City. Stoves, plows, etc., were among
the articles made from it, and while the supply lasted it undoubtedly paid the
owner of the land.

SCHOOLS.

The first school-house built in the township was erected on the corner of David
Aldrich's land, in the spring of 1837* in what is now district No. 1. It
stood on the north side of the road, in the corner where the orchard now is.
The first teacher in it was Miss Jeannette Baldwin, now the widow of Elisha
Gilbert, of Marshall. This school-house was constructed of logs, and stood a
number of years, being used as a place in which to hold schools, meetings, elec-
tions, etc. It was finally torn away and a neat frame building erected on the
south side of the road, a quarter of a mile farther east.

In fractional district No. 4, schools were taught in private houses previous
to 1850, and during that year in Mr. Jager's house, where Miss L. Gould taught.
The first teacher in the district was probably a Miss Sophia Fish. Miss Laura
Kimball, now Mrs. John Fredenburg, also taught in this district. The present
school-house is a substantial frame building, on section 5, on the farm of W. Lee.

In fractional district No. 7 a school was taught about 1839-40, in a house
built for a dwelling, by Stephen Case. It stood on the southeast corner of the
northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 2. The first term was a
winter school, taught by Jeannette Baldwin. The next summer Miss Laura
Mason was the teacher. Miss Baldwin has already been mentioned in connection
with district No. 1. Miss Mason was married to a Mr. Haskell, of Fredonia,

* Another authority says in the summer of 1836.

164

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

and is now deceased. Shortly after 1840, a school-house was built of logs, on
land owned by Jesse Thurston, south of Caleb Tilton's place ; also on section 2.
It stood for a number of years, and was finally torn away. The present school-
house in this district stands on the town line, eighty rods west of the northeast
corner of section 2.

The first school-house in district No. 6 was built by Ezekiel Blue, about 1838-
39. It was a log edifice, and stood on the east shore of Lyon lake, distant but
a few rods from the water. It was used for school purposes a number of years.
Jane Markham, Halsey Southworth, and others were among the early teachers in
it. The frame school-house now standing on section 13 is the third one in the
district, and was built in 1853.

In district No. 5 a school-house was built some years after the one in No. 6,
and is yet standing on section 26, south of Lyon lake.

Fredonia township is at present divided into thirteen districts and fractional
districts, and contains eight substantial school buildings, which are a credit to the
township.

THE LYON LAKE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH,
of Fredonia, has a history nearly identical with that of the one at Tekonsha vil-
lage, and for the early history of it the reader is referred to the sketch of Te-
konsha.

A new organization was effected at Lyon Lake, in 1871, and a subscription taken
for funds with which to build a church. Trustees and a building committee were
appointed, and the contract for erecting the church let, in 1872, to Franklin Ed-
gerton, of Marshall. The building and furniture cost a total of four thousand
five hundred dollars, and is the finest country church in the county. It is tastily
finished on the inside, — frescoed and carpeted, and will seat about three hundred
persons. It is surmounted by a neat spire, and is a credit to the architect
and to the projectors. The society, when newly organized, had twenty-three
members, and on the 1st of April, 1877, the membership was fifty-one. The
first pastor in the new church was Rev. I. R. A. Wightman, and he has been
followed by Revs. Aaron Hunsberger, M. S. Merritt, G. C. Draper, and E. L.
Kellogg, the latter being the present pastor. The appointment is on the same
charge with Tekonsha.

THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH

of Fredonia was organized some thirty years ago, Rev. James Verney being the
first minister of this denomination who preached here. The original congregation
was small, and was finally disbanded. In 1861 a reorganization was effected, and
it is at present in a flourishing condition. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Strong.

The church is a neat and substantial frame building, standing on rising ground,
and was built in 1862-63. It will seat from one hundred and fifty to two hun-
dred persons.

A Sabbath-school was organized early, and has been kept up most of the time
since. Its first superintendent was John Young.

At different times libraries have been in use in the school, but at present they
have none, and take Sabbath-school papers instead. The church stands on the
south side of the road, near the school-house, on section 22.

THE EVANGELICAL SOCIETY

held its first regular meetings about 1862-64, although Rev. Mr. Young had
preached to them eight or ten years previous. Rev. Mr. Ansbach also minis-
tered to them. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Kimmerling. The membership
is about thirty. Sermons are preached both in German and English, so that all
members may understand. A Sabbath-school is kept up, and the society is in
good condition.

In December, 1876, a fine frame church building was completed and dedicated,
having been built at a cost, including labor, of between two and three thousand
dollars.

A LUTHERAN CHURCH

has also been organized a considerable number of years, and the substantial frame
building owned by this society stands on the southeast corner of the northeast
quarter of section 31.

The town hall, a frame building on the northeast corner of section 22, was built
in 1870, at a cost of about nine hundred dollars. Previous to this elections had
been held in school-houses.

THE FIRST TOWN-MEETING

in Fredonia township was held April 2, 1838, at the house of Ebby Hyde.' John
Houston was chosen moderator, and James Winters and Abel H. Rlakesly clerks
of the board. At this meeting the following township officers were elected, viz. :
Supervisor, Solomon Platner ; Town Clerk, James Winters ; Assessors, David
Aldrich, Calvin Cole, John B. Fredenburg ;. Commissioners of Highways, Thomas

P. Briggs, William Miller, Lotham Hatt ; School Inspectors, James Winters, A.
H. Blakesly, John Houston ; Collector, Putnam Root ; Overseers of the Poor,
Solomon Platner, John Houston ; Constables, Putnam Root, Lynos West, Henry
A. Woodruff; Pound-keeper, Hiram Charter; Path-masters and Fence- viewers,
James Case, James E. Salisbury, David Aldrich, Calvin Cole, Thomas P. Briggs.

At a special election held January 7, 1839, Ebby Hyde was elected supervisor,
Increase A. Pendleton justice of the peace, and Thomas P. Briggs director of the
poor.

The supervisors of Fredonia from 1839 (regular election) until 1877 have been
as follows: 1839, John Houston; 1840, John B. Fredenburg; 1841, John
Houston; 1842-43, J. B. Fredenburg; 1844, John Houston; 1845, J. B. Fre- #
denburg; 1846, Joseph Hollon ; 1847, Enos Gillis ; 1848, John Houston ; 1849-
50, Enos Gillis; 1851, David Aldrich; 1852, Putnam Root; 1853-54, David
Aldrich; 1855-56, David Jager; 1857, James A. Polhemus; 1858-59, David
Jager ; 1860-62, J. A. Davis ; 1863, David Jager ; 1864, O. C. Comstock ; 1865-
66, John Fredenburg ; 1867-69, David Jager; 1870,"Arthur M. Odell ; 1871-
73, William A. Powell ; 1874, George W. Thwing ; 1875-76, David Jager ; 1877,
William A. Powell.

Town Clerks.— 1839, Putnam Root; 1840, John W. Briggs; 1841, Putnam
Root; 1842, Thomas J. Briggs; 1843-44, Abel H. Blakesly; 1845-48, Henry
A. Woodruff; 1849-55, John B. Fredenburg; 1856-57, Putnam Root; 1858,
Abraham Yan Yorhees ; 1859-60, Simeon P. Rowley ; 1861-63, John Freden-
burg ; 1864, A. Yan Yorhees ; 1865-66, Nathan P. Aldrich ; 1867, James A.
Polhemus ; 1868, Frederick A. Rowley ; 1869, William A. Powell ; 1870, F. A.
Rowley ; 1871-74, Charles H. Bailey ; 1875, Frederick P. Ellis ; 1876, Charles
H. Bailey; 1877, Franklin R. Good.

Justices of the Peace. — 1839, Calvin Cole; 1840, Ebby Hyde, Putnam Root;
1841, David Aldrich ; 1842, Increase A. Pendleton ; 1843, Putnam Root ; 1844,
Benjamin Rowley, Alvin T. Bush; 1845, Fernando C. Rathbun; 1846, Alvin
T. Bush; 1847, Clark Brockway ; 1848, Thomas Y. Begole ; 1849, F. C. Rath-
bun, Oliver Bailey; 1850, Eliphalet Emon, George W. Briggs; 1851, A. T.
Bush, Clark Brockway; 1852, George W. Briggs; 1853, Giddings Whitmore;

1854, Clark Brockway, Alonzo Acker ; 1855, Isaac Yan Yorhees, Julius Davis ;
1856, J. A. Davis, Isaac Yan Yorhees, Oliver Bailey; 1857, Samuel Swartwout,
Putnam Root, M. J. Lathrop ; 1858, George W. Thwing, Samuel Fayerweather ;
1859, John B. Fredenburg; 1860, David Jager, Cyrus Spencer; 1861, Samuel
Fayerweather, Thomas J. Edmonds, David Jager ; 1862, W. J. Acker, Charles
Alexander ; 1863, W. J. Acker ; 1864, T. J. Edmonds ; 1865, A. G. Lester,
P. Root, Samuel Fayerweather ; 1866, P. Root, S. Fayerweather, C. A. Spen-
cer; 1867, W. J. Acker, A. Yan Yorhees; 1868, A. Yan Yorhees, Thomas E.
Brakey ; 1869, S. Fayerweather, C. A. Spencer ; 1870, Putnam Root, George
W. Thwing ; 1871, W. J. Acker, David Jager ; 1872, David Jager ; 1873, Ben-
jamin Fredenburg, S. Fayerweather ; 1874, E. Y. B. Hyde, F. R. Good, S. Fay-
erweather ; 1875, Putnam Root, F. R. Good, S. Fayerweather ; 1876, G. W.
Briggs, J. B. Arnold; 1877, Joseph Eddy.

Constables.— 1839, Putnam Root, J. F. Sykes ; 1840, Hiram Cary, J. F. Sykes,
William Rowley; 1841, L. West, Levi Cary, Henry Fredenburg ; 1842, William
Miller, L. West, H. Cary, T. Y. Begole ; 1843, L. West, Levi Cary ; 1844, Levi
Cary, Ebby Y. B. Hyde; 1845, Oliver Bailey, Charles Gillis, Geo. W. Briggs;
1846, Oliver Bailey, Sydney Robinson; 1847,|W. J. Acker, Benj. Fredenburg;
1848, G. G. Collins, B. Fredenburg, O. Bailey, W. J. Acker ; 1849, B. Freden-'
burg, W. J. Acker, Sydney Robinson, Samuel Keyes ; 1850, W. J. Acker, S.
Robinson ; 1851, same as 1850 ; 1852, S. Robinson, W. J. Acker, Lyman Root;
1853, W. J. Acker, G. G. Collins; 1854, O. M. Easterly, Benj. Fredenburg;

1855, Gilbert G. Collins, S. Robinson, John Peck ; 1856, Philander Chapin, S.
Robinson, Ezra Hoyt ; 1857, J. M. Rice, Philander Chapin ; 1858, S. Robinson,
D. H. Snyder; 1859, T. J. Edmonds, J. Houston, Jr., Squire Loomis, H. A. T.
Watrous ; 1860, P. Snyder, J. Houston, Jr., Wm. Burland, J. H. Sanders ; 1861,
P. Snyder, Wm. Fredenburg, H. H. Armstrong, J. Houston, Jr. ; 1862, Charles
J. Collins, P. Snyder, Richard S. Schooley, David H. Snyder; 1863, P. Snyder,
N. P. Aldrich, D. H. Snyder, William Fredenburg; 1864, D. H. Snyder, P.
Snyder, C. J. Collins, Wm. Fredenburg; 1865, D. H. Snyder, J. L. Bean, W.
F. Blossom, W. H. Peck ; 1866, Peter Decker, Stephen Lansing, A. J. Burrows,
Leroy Montcalm; 1867, C. G. Collins, D. H. Snyder, Deforest Snyder, William
Fredenburg; 1868, Jesse Cary, Patrick Melloy, William Lee, Thomas Annis ;
1869, Wm. Lee, David Annis, Jesse Cary, James Bush ; 1870, J. D. Snyder,
William Thunder, Jesse Cary, Milton Remsen ; 1871, M. W. Wright, A. J. Bur-
rows, Samuel Lee, William Lansing ; 1872, W. F. Lake, H. A. Snyder, Lewis
P. Tower, Charles Smith ; 1873, W. Lansing, Andrew Sutherland, Jesse Annis,
Jr., Zephaniah Welton ; 1874, William Lansing, Herbert Snyder, James Lee, Jr.,
Montgomery Cowen ; 1875, Harrison McLaflin, A. J. Rowley, George W. Covey,
Stephen Lansing ; 1876, A. J. Burrows, Stephen Lansing, Lorenzo Root, Come-

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

165

lius Wilson ; 1877, David Vroman, Charles Richfield, Cornelius Wilson, Ezra
Jones.

The grade of the proposed Marshall and Coldwater railway crosses the town-
ship from north to south, and if the road is ever completed it will afford an imme-
diate market for the products of the farms along its route. Several thousand
dollars have already been paid by the citizens of the township to aid in its con-
struction, and the grading has been done and ties brought to the ground, all ready
for the laying of the rails.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

JOHN HOUSTON,

the subject of our present sketch, is justly reckoned among Calhoun's thrifty
and energetic farmers and business men. He was born May 16, 1824, in the
town of Clarkson, Monroe county, New York. His parents were natives of New
Hampshire, and emigrated to Michigan in 1833, and located in Fredonia. They
were both sterling pioneers, and have, after the toils incident to border life, passed

peacefully to their rest. John Houston received his education at the public
schools of Calhoun County, and resided in the old homestead until he attained
his majority, when he began the business of farming for himself. He now owns
a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres, on sections 9 and 16, in Fredonia
township, a view of which, together with portraits of himself and excellent wife,
we present to our readers on another page. In politics, Mr. Houston is a Repub-
lican, and has filled many official positions with credit to himself and satisfaction
to his constituents, the people of Calhoun County. He was the sheriff of the
county from 1862 to 1866, four years, and was a member of the lower house of
the State legislature in 1875 and 1876. He is now the vice-president of the
City National bank, and is largely engaged in the manufacture of cider and
vinegar in the season, having the most complete cider-manufactory in the county.
He is also engaged in buying and selling live-stock, and keeps a fine herd of
blooded cattle and fine-wooled sheep.

On the 3d of July, 1849, he was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Hurd,
who was born in the town of Yates, Orleans county, New York, February 20,
1827. Her parents, Josiah and Mila (Portrage) Hurd were natives of the
State of New York, and settled in Michigan in 1843, and are now residents of
the city of Marshall. Mrs. Houston is a member of the Baptist church of that
city.

LE ROY TOWNSHIP.

The congressional township of Le Roy is designated as town 3 south, range 8
west, and is bounded on the north by Battle Creek township, on the east by Em-
mett, on the south by Athens, and on the west by Climax township, Kalamazoo
county. It originally belonged to the township of Athens, from which it was
constitutionally divided in the spring of 1837. As to soil, no township in
the county possesses a greater diversity, being aptly described as containing good,
bad, and indifferent. On the west are fine burr-oak plains, and what was formerly
heavily-timbered land, the soil of which is of the best and admirably adapted to
agricultural purposes. There is some marsh land, no considerable streams, but
three small lakes, which, besides affording fine facilities for procuring pure water,
also plentifully abound with all kinds of fish generally found in the smaller lakes.
The marsh land originally extended through the centre of the township, which
caused its nominal division — East Le Roy and West Le Roy. A large portion of
it has been redeemed and is now practically under cultivation. We are credibly
informed that this marsh at an early day used to subject the settlers to great
difficulty and annoyance. Indeed, it is said that oftentimes the pioneers had to
take their oxen from their wagons, tie their legs together, and roll them over, then
disjoin their vehicles and carry them across piecemeal. Besides this, the mias-
matic effluvia emanating from its stagnant waters caused a great deal of sickness,
such as ague, and other bilious ailments. These disagreeable results were, how-
ever, partially recompensed by the pasturage which the marsh afforded the early
settlers. The name " Le Roy 1 ' for the new township was suggested by Mrs.
David C. Fish to Silas Kelsey, who circulated the petition for the division of old
Athens ; not, as has been erroneously stated in a recent publication, for the reason
that Mr. Fish and family came from a place of that name, for we are assured by
this venerable couple that they were never in or ever heard of a place called Le
Roy prior to the naming of the township. The origin of the name is this : Mrs.
Fish was under the impression that her son, whom she had named Le Roy, was
the first birth in the township ; and hence, in honor of the event, she, with a
mother's pride in her first-born son, suggested that the township be named in his
honor. The fact remains, however, that her son was not the first child born in
the township, and as there has been considerable dispute as to the priority of
birth of Le Roy Fish and Charles E. Baker, we have taken extra pains to ascer-
tain the facts, which we submit as follows: Charles E. Baker, born June 17,
1836 ; Le Roy Fish, born August 26, 1836.

FIRST SETTLERS.

Ira Case came in 1835, and located a farm on section 7, but did not settle on
it till February, 1837 ; David C. Fish made a permanent settlement on section 1
in 1836 ; Heman Baker and wife, in the spring of the same year, on section 7 ;
Timothy Kelsey, the summer following, remaining in the house of Ira Baker
until the next year ; Jonathan Sprague, with his six sons and two daughters, —
namely, Philetus, Levi C, Argallus, Thomas, Vedder, Caleb M., Hannah, and
Ruth, — came during the year 1836, and located on section 2, a short distance
northeast of the present residence of the Rev. Thomas Sprague, the only one of
the family remaining in the township ; Wright J. Esmond came in the same
year, and settled on section 1.

In 1837, several familiee came in ; among others, Dudley N. Bushnell, wife, and
two children, who arrived June 12, accompanied by Silas Kelsey, who had been
in the township as early as 1835, but had made no permanent settlement. Dea-
con John H. Bushnell came within a month of his brother ; T. B. Barnum came
during the year, and settled on the banks of Lake Copanocon, on section 14, where
he has since resided ; John E. Mulholland settled on section 2 the same year,
and also Isaac Hiscock, who came in and settled on the farm now occupied by his
son, Seth E. Hiscock, on section 4 ; Thomas Wilson came in and kept bachelor's
hall for nine months, and was afterwards joined by his large family. John E.
Bobbins arrived the same year, and settled on section 12 ; and Jeremiah Drake
on section 25 ; Polydore Hudson, who had formerly resided some years in Battle
Creek, removed to Le Roy, and settled on section 1 in 1837 ; Harlow Burdick
took up his residence on section 10 in the spring of the same year.

THE FIRST LOG HOUSE

vras erected by William Bishop, who settled on section 6, in the extreme north-
166

western corner of the township, in 1832 or 1833. He came in from Prairie Ronde,
where he had formerly resided for some years, and where he married a daughter
of Judge Harrison, a well-known and prominent pioneer of the place.

He also opened the first farm on his fractional lot of eighty-five acres, and
made other improvements on a small scale, among other things sowing the first
wheat in the township in the spring of 1834.

Silas Kelsey, who came into the township as early as 1835, but did not effect
a permanent residence until June 12, 1837, when he settled on section 7, where
he has ever since remained, is accredited with having erected the first frame house
in the township. It was a primitive affair, its dimensions being eighteen by twenty
feet, and was erected in 1837.

Chester W. Cole has the honor of having erected the first brick house in
Le Roy, in 1850. It is now occupied by Warren Smith.

The first male child born in the township was Charles E. Baker, son of Heman
Baker, born June 17, 1836. He married Armenta, daughter of Fayette Gould,
and now resides in Champaign, Illinois.

The first female child was Esther A., daughter of Martin Cole, born May 1,
1836. She married Charles Peters, and now resides in Battle Creek.

The first marriage was that of Nelson Card and Susan Cole, May 7, 1837.
Rev. Erastus L. Kellogg performed the ceremony.

The first death was that of a Mrs. Nichols, who died in the summer of 1836.
The first death that occurred other than in the natural way was tljat of Harriet,
daughter of Timothy Kelsey, who was accidentally burned to death in the spring of
1838. The melancholy circumstances surrounding her demise cast a deep gloom
over the people. The feelings of the bereaved parents of the child can be much
better imagined than described. The father returning from his work at night,
with heavy toil fatigued, was met by the sympathizing neighbors, who imparted
the sad intelligence of his daughter's death with that rustic simplicity which de-
notes a delicacy, real and genuine, though roughly expressed. The funeral ser-
vices were held at the dwelling of the child's parents, and the funeral sermon

the first in the township — was preached by Rev. Justin Marsh, the Baptist
minister then stationed at Battle Creek. The words of sympathy, accompanied
by religious sentiment, tended to assuage the poignant grief of the mourners, and
though the painful incident left an ineffaceable impress upon the minds of the sor-
rowing parents and friends, yet great consolation was afforded them by the words
of comfort uttered by the good minister of the gospel on that painful occasion.

THE FIRST SAW-MILL

was built in Pine Creek by Jeremiah Drake and John Coats, in 1837. They
conducted operations for about ten years, when they sold to W. H. Vinecore,
who subsequently added one run of stone, and started a small grist-mill. He ran
the mill for about nineteen years, when he failed, and the mill was burned about
1866, and never rebuilt.

The first steam saw-mill was built in 1847, by Truman S. Cole. He continued
the business only two years, when he sold out to J. Bigelow, who sold to Messrs.
Tubbs & McClellan. In 1856 the mill was destroyed by fire, and was never
rebuilt.

A steam saw-mill was erected by A. J. Quick and Lucas Payne at what is
called Quick's Corners, or Steamburg village, situated a little south of Steamburg
lake, in 1856. It was burned down in 1861, and rebuilt by the same parties im-
mediately afterwards. The present firm consists of A. J. Quick, Charles S.
Andrews, and William Grassman.

BURYING-GROUND.

• The first burying-ground in West Le Roy was laid out on land donated by Silas
Kelsey, on section 7, in 1840.

The first burying-ground in East Le Roy was laid out on land donated by
Joshua Robinson in 1839-40. The first interment in it was that of Betsey,
daughter of Joshua Robinson.

THE FIRST PHYSICIAN

was Dr. H. M. Smith, who settled in East Le Roy, and commenced the practice

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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

167

of medicine in 1850. He was succeeded by James Foster, M.D., who is now
postmaster at Cecelia. These were both of the regular school of medicine.

THE FIRST TOWNSHIP MEETING.

" Be it remembered that on the 23d day of December, 1840, the house of the
township clerk was destroyed by fire, with all its contents, together with all the
township books and records. In consequence of which a meeting of the township
board was held, agreeable to a previous notice, at the house of Dudley N. Bushnell,
on the 15th day of January, 1841, for the purpose of revising the records of the
township."

The first annual meeting of said township was held at the house of John E.
Mulholland, April 2, 1838. Polydore Hudson was chosen moderator, and John
E. Mulholland and D. N. Bushnell, clerks, when the following persons were elected
to the several offices set opposite their respective names for the ensuing year :
Dudley N. Bushnell, supervisor ; J. E. Mulholland, clerk ; Polydore Hudson (four
years), Harlow H. Burdie, Silas Kelsey (two year's), Thomas B. Barnum (one
year) justices of the peace ; Timothy Kelsey, Lysander Cole, P. Sprague, J. J.
Hannas, assessors ; Jeremiah Drake, Heman Baker, John C. Bobbins, commis-
sioners of highways ; Polydore Hudson, D. N. Bushnell, Cornelius L. Newkirk,
school inspectors ; Benjamin Lay, John Coats, overseers of the poor ; James
Wilson, constable and collector ; Thomas Sprague, constable.

The following persons were chosen viva voce : John C. Bobbins, overseer of
highways for district No. 1 ; Ira Case, for district No. 2 ; James Wilson, for dis-
trict No. 3 ; J. J. Hannas, for district No. 4.

At the annual meeting in 1839, it was voted to build a pound near the quarter-
stake a little southwest of D. N. Bushnell's dwelling-house, and that the size of
said pound should be fifty feet square. The contract for building the same was
let to James Wilson, the lowest bidder, at nineteen dollars and fifty cents. The
same was accepted by the township board July 2, 1839.

The supervisors of the township from 1839 to 1877 have been as follows : D.
N. Bushnell (six years), Albert Whitcomb, John C. Bobbins, Jeremiah Drake,
(three years), L. B. Hall, T. B. Barnum (two years), William H. Yinecore (two
years), David Miller (five years), Philetus Gould (two years), John S. Mason
(two years), Bufus Payne, John Wagner (six years), Francis W. Clark (three
years), Joseph C. Lewis, Joseph H. Gould (three years).

Clerks. — John E. Mulholland (eight years), John H. Bushnell (two years), J.
A. Bobinson (three years), Silas Kelsey, Truman S. Cole (three years), Frederick
E. Bush, Philetus Gould (four years), David Gallaway (two years), John Scotford,
Byron E. Cole (six years), Edgar Stimpson (two years), Joseph C. Lewis (two
years), David Mather (two years), Charles S. Andrews (two years).

Justices of the Peace. — D. N. Bushnell (twenty-six years), Charles Lay,
Thos. B. Barnum, H. McNary, Elisha Smith, Oliver Booth, William Bobinson
(vacancy), Alfred J. Hathaway, Polydore Hudson (eight years), Silas Kelsey
(fourteen years), Truman S. Cole, B. Biley, D. H. Cotton, John Breman, Daniel
Biley (three years), Daniel Biley, James Winters (six years), Francis W. Clark
(eight years), Edgar Cheeseborough (vacancy), David Miller, Isaiah T. Gore,
James Foster (vacancy), F. E. Bush (twelve years), Ariel C. Stanton (vacancy),
Isaac Hiscock (eight years), T. B. Barnum, Franklin Guiteau (vacancy), Joseph
L. Burdick (seven years), Jacob K. Norton (ten years), Silas Birch, Thomas
Sprague (sixteen years), 0. H. Bolfe (vacancy).

FIRST ROAD.

The first road after the organization of the township was surveyed May 18,
1838. We quote the subjoined from the records of the township :

"Description of a road surveyed and established the 18th day of May, 1838,
in the township of Le Boy, commencing at a point 20 chains east of the quarter-
post on the north side of section 14 ; from thence running south 21 chains and
70 links; from thence running south 11° 30", east 13 chains and 48 links, to a
point north 73° 37", west, from the quarter-post on the east side of section 14,
18 chains and 4 links."

F. Burgess, Surveyor.
John E. Bobbins,
Heman Baker,
Commissioners of Highways.

There are no villages in Le Boy township, the only place approximating that
dignity being

STEAMBUBG,

which contains the steam saw-mill of Messrs. Quick, Andrews & Grassman, and
is known also as Quick's Corners. There is a small grocery-store here, which
was established in 1870 by one Arthur Moore. He was succeeded by Joseph
-fcish, and he by the present proprietor, Charles G. Morris. There is here a wagon-

and carriage-shop, blacksmith-shop, and a steam saw-mill. It is a conglomer-
ation of about ten families.

WEST LE ROY POST-OFFICE

was established in 1851, and Truman S. Cole appointed first postmaster. His
successors in the oflice have been Ammon Mills, Thomas Houston, Orange S.
Post, Byron E. Cole, Joseph C. Lewis, and A. K. Prentice.

THE FIRST SCHOOL

in West Le Boy was taught in the dwelling of Silas Kelsey, in the summer of
1837, by Miss Dennison, now the widow of Alexander Bowley, of Battle Creek.
Among the pupils were some of the children of Timothy Kelsey, Silas Kelsey,
and Isaac Davis, in all about seven or eight.

The first district school in the township was taught in school district No. 1, by
Miss Hannah Sprague, in the summer of 1838. She had previously taught in a
log house in the summer of 1837.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

The first meeting for the organization of school districts for the township of
Le Boy was held in April, 1838. The school inspectors then elected were Poly-
dore Hudson, Dudley N. Bushnell, and Cornelius L. Newkirk. P. Hudson was
appointed chairman of said board, which then proceeded to divide the township
into nine divisions or districts, each containing four sections, viz. :

District 1, embracing sections Nos. 1, 2, 11, and 12 ; district 2, embracing
sections Nos. 3, 4, 9, and 10 ; district 3, embracing sections Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8 ;
district 4, embracing sections Nos. 18, 17, 19, and 20 ; district 5, embracing sections
Nos. 16, 15, 21, and 22 ; district 6, embracing sections Nos. 14, 13, 23, and 24 ; dis-
trict 7, embracing sections Nos. 25, 26, 35, and 36 ; district 8, embracing sec-
tions Nos. 27, 28, 33, and 34 ; district 9, embracing sections Nos. 29, 30, 31, and
32.

The board also regularly organized districts 1, 3, and 4 at that meeting, and
the remainder at subsequent meetings during the year.

We certify the above to be correct.

Dudley N. Bushnell,
Polydore Hudson,

School Inspectors.
religious.

The rise and progress of Methodism in Le Boy township affords a flattering
tribute to the deep religious sentiment of its early pioneers. By careful examin-
ation into the records of the past we find that as early as 1837 a class was formed,
and the beauties of religion dispensed by regular preachers ere the settlement
(East Le Boy) numbered three-score souls. The first class was formed by Bev.
Erastus L. Kellogg, in the spring of 1837. The first class-leader was Ammon
Mills, a man intimately identified with the early religious history of Le Boy
township. The first members of the class were Ammon Mills and his wife
Betsey, Thomas, Argallus, Yedder, Elsey, and Mary' Sprague. Of these, one only
— Thomas Sprague — remains connected with the society, he having advanced to
the position of local preacher and class-leader. This class, which was among the
pioneer classes of the county, was attached to Battle Creek circuit, Marshall dis-
trict, and Michigan conference, in the fall of 1837, and had as its first preachers
Bevs. Benjamin Sabin and B. Lawrence, and as presiding elder E. H. Pilcher.
This organization continued as originally formed until 1856, when Le Boy circuit
was instituted, which consisted of six appointments, among them East, West,
and South Le Boy. As these are each distinct organizations, two of them — East
and West Le Boy — having good, substantial houses of worship, we shall consider
their histories separately.

The first pastor of East Le Boy circuit was Bev. G. W. Hoag, who was in-
stalled in the early part of the year 1856. During his pastorate the commodious
parsonage connected with the church was erected. The succession of pastors
since Mr. Hoag has been Bevs. Samuel Osborn, T. H. Bignel, N. L. Brockway,
T. G. Owen, J. E. McAllister, A. J. Bussell, G. E. Hollister, E. Marble, L. M.
Bennett, J. M. Aiken, and A. M. Gould, the present incumbent.

It was during the pastorate of Bev. G. E. Hollister that the fine church edi-
fice of the East Le Boy organization was erected. It was dedicated with inter-
esting ceremonies by Bev. G. B. Jocelyn, D.D., late president of Albion college,
on the 2d of November, 1871. The church is a substantial and commodious
wooden structure, with a handsome steeple, and of fine architecture. Its cost was
four thousand dollars.

The present officers of the church are Bev. Thomas Sprague, Lyman B. Hall,
Henry C. Bolfe, Benjamin F. Morgan, B. Stanton, trustees ; Thomas Sprague,
L. B. Hall, M. Canright, and Joseph M. Fish, stewards.

There is a flourishing Sabbath-school connected with the church, of which Mr.

168

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Ryan B. Cowles is superintendent. We give statistics of all three Sabbath-
schools of Le Roy circuit conjointly below.

WEST LE ROY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

had its origin in a class which was formed under the ministerial labors of Rev. R.
R. Richards, and leadership of Ammon Mills, in the spring of 1840, and admitted
into Kalamazoo circuit the same year. The first meeting was held in the door-
yard of Henry McNary's dwelling, and consisted of ten members, four by
letter and six on probation, namely, Ammon Mills and wife, and Socrates Gris-
wold and wife, by letter; Mrs. Caroline McNary, Francis Clark, Benjamin Gris-
wold, Ammon Mills, Jr., Miss Betsey Mills, and Harry Cole, probationists. The
preachers from 1840 until the formation of Le Roy circuit in 1856, when the
duties of the entire circuit devolved upon the resident minister, were Revs. E. R.
Kellogg, J. W. Brier, R. R. Richards, J. Hudson, J. E. Parker. Under this
pastorate West Le Roy class — Daniel Bush, R. B. Young, V. G. Boynton, R. L.
Farnsworth, Curtis Mosher, A. Wakefield — was transferred to Climax circuit in
1852, when the class was again transferred, this time to Galesburg circuit — A. A.
Dunton, J. C. Abbott, F. Gage — in 1856 ; from which time the pastors mentioned
above, in connection with the East Le Roy church, have officiated in both
churches.

In 1867, during the pastorate of Rev. J. E. McAllister, the present church
edifice, a neat wooden structure, was erected, and dedicated on the 3d of Febru-
ary of the same year. The dedicatory ceremony was conducted by Rev. A. P.
Mead, assisted by Revs. M. A. Dougherty and T. H. Jacokes. The entire cost
of the church edifice was three thousand dollars.

The present officers of the church are Daniel Reasoner, Charles N. Farmer, D.
W. Lay, D. E. Lay, L. Cole, Ira Case, and Henry McNary, trustees ; Daniel
Reasoner, D. E. Lay, and S. N. Hyde, stewards.

There is a Sabbath-school connected with the church, of which Daniel Reasoner
is superintendent.

SOUTH LE ROY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

consists of a well-conducted class, of which Jabez Morgan is leader. It was
admitted into Le Roy circuit in 1856. The meetings are held in the school-
house. In 1873 the appointment was dropped by the circuit preachers, and Rev.
Thomas Sprague was appointed as a supply, and preached for the congregation
four years, during which time a revival was held, and twenty conversions were
made. The Sabbath-school is under the superintendency of J. Morgan, who is
also steward of the class.

The most important revival of the circuit was held in East Le Roy in 1849
under Revs. 0. Mason and M. Hickey.

The total membership of the circuit is one hundred and eighty-five; probation-
ists, seventy ; number of teachers and scholars in the Sabbath-schools, one hundred
and thirty-five.

There are now two resident ministers of the Methodist Episcopal denomination
in the township, Revs. A. M. Gould and Thomas Sprague.

THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

The history of this organization dates back to March 14, 1837, when a meet-
ing was convened at the house of Isaac Davis, at Climax, to organize a Presby-
terian church. The Rev. Silas Woodbury was called to the chair, and Silas
, Kelsey was appointed clerk pro tern. After prayer by Brother Woodbury, the
meeting proceeded to business, the first of which was the reception of lettters
from the seventeen members whose names follow, viz.: Jonathan Sprague,
Heman Baker, Eliza Baker, Philetus Sprague, Ira Case, Hannah Sprague, Carr
Sprague, Silas Kelsey, Priscilla Davis, Isaac Davis, Margaret Sprague, Anna Lay,
Daniel Lay, Teresa Sprague, Mary B. Sawyer, William A. Sawyer, and Cornelia
Sprague.

The confession of faith and covenant of the Monroe presbytery was unan-
imously adopted. Heman Baker and Jonathan Sprague were chosen for deacons •
William A. Sawyer and Silas Kelsey for elders. The charge to the officers elect
and to the members was delivered by Brother Woodbury, as was also the conse-
crating prayer and laying on of hands, assisted by Deacon Baker.

December 27, 1839, we find that a church-meeting was called for the purpose
of appointing a successor to the deaconate, made vacant by the death of Jonathan
Sprague. John H. Bushnell was chosen. Dudley N. Bushnell was chosen to
the office of elder at the same meeting.

At a meeting held January 25, 1840, it was voted unanimously to change the
name of the church from the "First Presbyterian church of Climax,' 7 to the
" First Presbyterian church of Le Roy." Also to change the ecclesiastical relation
from the Kalamazoo presbytery to Marshall presbytery. The church remained
under the latter dispensation until March 21, 1846, when it was changed, by the

mutual consent of the official members, to the " Congregational church of Le
Roy," under the pastorate of Rev. Asa Bushnell. Those chosen to the office of
deacon at the first church-meeting under the change were Heman Baker and
John H. Bushnell. The first clerk was Silas Kelsey. The succession of pastors
since the change has been Revs. Asa Bushnell, Mason Knappen, H. H. Doolittle,
John H. Byrd, R. L. Farnsworth, M. M. Foster, A. W. Bushnell, John Seotford,
Alexander Achison, Samuel Phillips, Charles S. Spetteque, R. Everts, and James
Yerney, the present efficient incumbent. The present officers are — Deacons, F.
E. Bush, J. H. Bushnell, and H. P. Nichols ; Clerk, S. 0. Bush. Number of
members, eighty. The present church edifice, of wood, was built in 1846, and
dedicated in 1847. The church contemplates erecting a new house of worship
some time within two years. There is a flourishing Sabbath-school in connec-
tion with the church, of which Mr. S. 0. Bush is superintendent. Its average
summer and winter attendance is fifty-five. Silas Kelsey, one of the first mem-
bers and the first clerk of the church, died in May, 1877.

CENTRAL LE ROY GRANGE, NO. 31, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY,

was organized November 15, 1873, with the following list of charter members:
Messrs. C. M. Fish, A. J. Quick, Hiram Hasbrook, E. Crawford, R. F. Morgan,
John McCamly, A. Bobbins, John Wagner, Richard Vaughn, E. A. Daley, Mrs.
C. M. Fish, Mrs. A. J. Quick, Mrs. H. Hasbrook, Mrs. Benjamin Morgan, Mrs.
James McCamly, Mrs. A. Bobbins, Mrs. John Wagner, Mrs. R. Vaughn, Mrs. E.
A. Daley, Mrs. Jane Wheeler, Misses Emma Crawford, Clara Wheeler, E. M.
Robbins, Ovida Wagner, Lucy Morgan, Nettie Daley.

At the regular organization, the grange was oificered as follows, viz. :

John Wagner, Master ; Benjamin Morgan, Overseer ; A. Robbins, Secretary ;
A. J. Quick, Steward ; E. A. Daley, Assistant Steward ; C. M. Fish, Chaplain ;
H. Hasbrook, Treasurer ; E. Crawford, Gatekeeper ; Miss Lucy Morgan, Ceres ;
Emma Crawford, Pomona ; Ovida Wagner, Flora ; Miss Clara Wheeler, Lady
Assistant Steward.

At the first annual election of officers, in December, 1873, Mr. N. J. Kelsey,
then a member of the order, was elected Master of the Le Roy grange, and
served in that capacity (being twice re-elected) until January, 1877, during which
time sixty-six worthy members were added to the grange.

The present membership is one hundred and two. The place of holding
meetings is East Le Roy Methodist church, at which regular meetings are held
every Tuesday evening, on or before the full moon, each month.

The present officers of the grange are : F. A. Johnson, Master ; Benjamin
Morgan, Overseer; W. Rolfe, Lecturer; A. J. Quick, Steward; A. G-. Johnson,
Assistant Steward ; 0. H. Rolfe, Chaplain ; H. Dubois, Treasurer ; R. B. Cowles,'
Secretary ; Uriah Owen, Gatekeeper ; Miss Lucy Morgan, Ceres ; Mary Mason,
Pomona ; Emma Crawford, Flora ; Mrs. Quick, Lady Assistant Steward.

Le Roy grange holds a prominent position among the township granges of the
county, being generally considered as one of the best and most perfect organiza-
tions in the State.

LE ROY, THE BANNER ANTI-SLAVERY TOWNSHIP.

The predisposition of some of the most prominent citizens of Le Roy to anti-
slavery principles, gave that township the enviable honor of being the first in the
United States that gave a majority in favor of the abolition of slavery. The first
manifestation of these principles was made in 1840, when we find three noble
citizens fearlessly casting their votes for James G. Birney, the anti-slavery candi-
date for the presidency. The names thus honorably placed on record are de-
serving of the widest possible recognition ; hence, we hand them down to posterity
in the pages of history, as representatives of that broad humanitarian principle
which culminated in the enforced freedom of four million slaves, and their
final enfranchisement. They are Caleb Smith, J. H. Bushnell, and Silas Kelsey.

On the 4th of July, 1842, the famous "big meeting" was held in the grove
of Silas Kelsey, to which hundreds came from all over the county to listen to the
burning eloquence of the great anti-slavery agitator, Dr. Bennett, and to partici-
pate in the general festivities. It was the largest gathering ever held in the town-
ship. And the bountiful repast, at which was served a mammoth cheese, weigh-
ing about eighty pounds, had a double interest, in that it was partaken of from
tables spread upon a spot where afterwards could be seen the forms of those
fleeing from slavery, by way of the " underground railway," a branch of which
ran through Le Roy.

The sentiments expressed at this meeting were propagated on fertile soil for
we find them most admirably sustained during the great struggle— the triumph-
ant conquest of right over might— in 1861-65. No township in the county re-
sponded more liberally to the call of the general government, or filled her quota
of men with greater alacrity. *

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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

169

AN INDIAN INCIDENT. ,

In the summer of 1838 an event occurred which tended greatly to mar the
security of the settlement. While Mr. Baker was returning from cutting hay,
just as the shades of evening were falling, the circumstance happened. It was a
pleasant evening, and all nature was tranquil, and he was enjoying a feelin«- of
quiet repose, when suddenly the accident occurred which was fraught with great
trouble for him for weeks, afterwards. He carried a little cask, which he used for
the purpose of a water-flask, and the cork had been pushed inside and rolled
about within, making a peculiar sound. He had just passed through a slight
ravine, and was making the ascent on the other side, when he saw a small
party of Indians who were returning from a visit to his house. The party con-
sisted of four ponies, laden with squaws and pappooses, and among them a part of
the family of Penamoo, the chief of the tribe. The sudden appearance of Mr.
Baker, in his white shirt-sleeves, coupled with the sound of the moving cork
within the cask, was something with which the ponies were entirely unacquainted,
and, judging from the affrighted stampede they made, they had no desire to in-
vestigate. Every saddle was immediately emptied, and a mass of leather-colored
humanity lay conglomerated on the ground. He straightway hastened to the
spot, anticipating that great mischief had been done, although to what extent he
had no idea. He went up very friendly, and tried to assist them in catching
their ponies, but his amicable offices w;ere met with wild exclamations of " Kinna-
poo Chemohaman /" and they struck the requisite attitudes for the execution of
their threats, which, being interpreted, means " kill white man !" He, however,
not being prepared to enter so unceremoniously the. happy hunting-grounds, in-
stituted a series of pugilistic manoeuvres, and three or four of the female warriors
were hors du combat.

He then proceeded to investigate the damage done, and found the heir to
Penamoo's throne and greatness with his arm broken in two places, and his
royal elbow out of joint. When he made these discoveries a sort of " I-wish-I-
was home" feeling came over him, for he realized the danger of arousing the vin-
dictive nature of the red man. He made prolonged but futile endeavors to
pacify the infuriated squaws, but they would listen to no conciliatory advances.
They demanded his unconditional surrender, that they might triumphantly con-
duct him to their wigwams, and procure for him a rapid transit to another sphere.
But, as we before intimated, he had business here below, and hence did not accede
to their amiable demands.

The next day he had business in the Sprague neighborhood, the most remote .
from the scene of his last night's adventure, and while absent, the ancient warrior
and renowned chief, Penamoo, visited his house for the purpose of "settling."
Mr. B. finally concluded to organize a board of arbitration, choosing Messrs.
22

Taylor and Bishop, the latter being conversant with Indian customs and manners.
The squaws were for coercive measures, for they found them brandishing knives,
and reiterating the euphonious " Kinnapoo Chemohaman /"

After two or three days' negotiation, Penamoo offered to adjust the difficulty
for " ten dollars" and a " mejash (big) blanket," and if pappoose died, he must
have Mr. Baker's pale-face pappoose ; and if he would not let him have the white
juvenile, he would kill him or his pappoose, or both, according to the humor he
might be in at the time. He finally agreed to accept three dollars in one hundred
days, and went off. Mr. Baker, however, had to become a sort of commissary
officer to the entire offspring of the house of Penamoo pending the recovery of
the injured child. He held himself in readiness to move instanter if the Indian
youngster should have died ; but, fortunately, it lived to become a " big Injun,"
and the affair terminated without bloodshed, although it caused considerable
anxiety.

TRAGEDIES.

An aggravated murder was committed in a piece of woods in the southern part
of the township in 1850. John Winters brutally murdered his wife by clubbing
out her brains. Jealousy was the cause, although it was generally believed to be
groundless.

ACCIDENT.

Timothy E. Kelsey, oldest son of Silas Kelsey, accidentally shot himself with
a rifle, while getting over a fence opposite his father's house, in 1855. The ball
entered his thigh, and after lingering nearly a week he died, and was buried in
the West Le Roy burying-ground, which is located on Mr. Kelsey 's farm. Mr.
Kelsey died May, 1877, as before stated.

NAMES OF LAKES IN LE ROY.

Copnacon — not, as erroneously spelled on the maps, Copanacon — derives
its name from a peculiar root which flourishes on its banks, and which was used
extensively by the Indians, who used to inhabit its borders, for medicinal pur-
poses. The Indians named the lake, and we are informed by one who often con-
versed with them that Copnacon is the proper way of spelling the name.

STEAMBURG LAKE

is so called from the hamlet of the same name, which contains the steam saw-mill
of A. J. Quick & Co.

We are under obligations, which we are pleased to acknowledge, for courtesies
extended to us in the compilation of the township history of Le Roy by Thomas
B. Barnum, Bev. Thomas Sprague, the late Silas Kelsey, Ira Case, Henry McNary,
N. J. Kelsey, Bev. Thomas Yernery, and others.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

7 /H^7sVjrt- — J

PHOTO. BY CEISPELL.

THOMAS B. BABNUM.

The desire for approbation is as legitimate as the desire for food, and when a
man, actuated by pure motives, accomplishes something from which good is de-
rived, he merits the approval of the hearts that love him, and he receives their
expressions of praise with grateful pleasure. Nay, if the deserved expressions of
laudation are withheld, a sensitive nature feels aggrieved, and experiences a sen-
sation of injustice. A person whom it is proper to praise cannot be flattered, and
one who can be flattered ought not to be praised. There is little danger of en-
gendering vanity in the heart of one deserving of commendation, as such usually
know what is really due them, and will accept only the exact tribute. They will
be very particular to return the exact change.

Now, we propose to write a brief notice in commendation of him whose name
and portrait heads this sketch. We feel assured that by a meritorious and blame-
less life he is deserving of mention in the pages of our work. While we eulogize
his virtues we shall not stoop to flattery, for we know that such would be discarded
by him.

Thomas B. Barnum, son of Asher and Rhoda Barnum {nee Burt), was born
on the 20th of September, 1800, in Danbury township, Fairfield county, Con-
necticut. He is of English and Welsh descent, his paternal grandfather being
English, and his grandmother Welsh. His father was a farmer in poor circum-
stances, of limited education, but of industrious habits and high integrity. His
mother was a woman of fine characteristics, and a fitting companion for his father
in every particular. He is a cousin of Hon. P. T. Barnum, the great American
showman and politician. He commenced contributing towards the support of himself
and mother when but nine years old, so that his opportunities for the acquirement of
knowledge were meagre. By self-study, however, he managed to lay the founda-
tion for sound practical knowledge, which future experience developed. In April,
1815, he commenced to learn the hatter's trade, which he completed at the age
of twenty-one. On the 20th of September, 1821, he started to travel in the
State of New York in search of employment, and was, therefore, a journeyman
hatter in the broadest sense of the term. After moving around for two months
his efforts were crowned with success, for he obtained employment in Armenia
township, Dutchess county, New York, at his trade, and retained the same for a
170

period of three years. During this time he formed the acquaintance of and
married Miss Harriet Bose, of the same place, the happy event having been con-
summated September 24, 1824. In April following, he went to Newtown, Fair-
field county, Connecticut, and engaged in the manufacture of hats, remaining thus
engaged six years. In April, 1831, removed to Southbury, Litchfield county,
Connecticut, where he continued at his trade for the ensuing six years. In June,
1836, he came to Calhoun County, and purchased a farm in what is now Le Boy,
then Athens township, and settled on the same in April, 1837. He then engaged in
agricultural pursuits, which he has since diligently followed with marked success.
He settled in the woods, and found eighty Indians occupying a large tent on his
land. At the organization of the township of Le Boy, in 1838, he was elected
justice of the peace, which office he held six years ; was commissioner of highways
in his district eight years, and supervisor in 1849-50, and served his township
disinterestedly and well, and to the full satisfaction of his constituents.
March 22, 1822, he joined the Masonic fraternity, and is, doubtless, the oldest
living Mason in the county. His family consists of two children, namely, Jane,
born July 3, 1827, and Charles, born November 8, 1829. These are both single,
and remain at home with their parents. In politics he is Bepublican, but started
a Democrat and remained with that party until 1848, when the old Jeffersonian
principles of Democracy began to get corrupted, and hence became repugnant to
honest men. In religious sentiment he believes in doing one's duty in life, and
though never affiliating with any religious sect, yet he always liberally supports
religious and educational enterprises, believing that churches and schools form the
basis of moral and intellectual development. Mr. Barnum has excelled as an
agriculturist because he has always conducted his farming operations scientifi-
cally. He was among the first to introduce pure seed wheat, — wheat free from
noxious weeds, — and of a particular kind of that only. He has no faith in the
careless and indiscriminate mixing of different kinds, and planting and growing
them under the name of a particular kind. He is also rightfully regarded as a
superior wool-grower, his wool always commanding an advance often cents per pound
over the general market value. These and other excellent characteristics conspire
to make the subject of this sketch deservedly esteemed by the public, and con-
sidered an exemplary gentleman and a truly good citizen.

Rev. Thomas Sprague.

Isaac Hiscock.

Silas Kelsey.

p

rs. Silas Kelsey.

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

171

SILAS KELSEY.

Silas Kelsey was a native of the State of New York, having been born on the
18th of May, 1808, near Livingstonville, in Schoharie county. Upon arriving
at his majority he removed to Niagara county, where two years were spent in
farm labor and teaching, after which he came to Michigan, employing himself
from about 1832 or 1833 until 1837 as a land-looker for those desiring to locate
lands in the counties of Kalamazoo and Calhoun.

Mr. Kelsey was married in Lockport, New York, May 25, 1837, to Miss Emily
Lusk, and immediately returned with his bride to their new home in West Le
Boy, where they arrived on the 12th day of June of that year. This home was
located on a tract of land which he had previously purchased of the government,
and which he subsequently improved by cultivation and by the erection of the
first frame house built in Le Roy township.

There was a family of five children born to them, three of whom now survive,
namely : N. J., who was born June 20, 1842, and is now a prominent resident
and farmer of West Le Roy ; C. S., who was born December 27, 1845, and is
now living in Chicago, training traveling salesmen for the Nonotuck Silk and
Twist Company; and Caroline E., who was born November 12, 1856, and married
Mr. Charles Smith, with whom she now resides in West Le Roy.

On the 9th of June, 1876, Mr. Kelsey was called on to bid a last farewell to
the partner of his joys and sorrows, who died in her sixty-first year, and whose
remaining children cherish her memory as blessed. This worthy couple now
repose side by side in the cemetery on the farm which had been their home for
forty years.

Mr. Kelsey was an active member of the Congregational church of Le Roy, in
the organization and support of which he had borne a prominent part, and to
which he sustained the relation of a consistent communicant at the time of his
death.

He was also an earnest patriot, and a steady and untiring friend of every enter-
prise which had for its object the promotion of the welfare of man. He belonged
to that class of men in his township who bore a conspicuous part in the anti-slavery
movement, for which Le Roy was distinguished in the earlier history of this sec-
tion, and very naturally, with such antecedents, became an influential supporter
of the Republican party when it was organized, and continued a firm adherent
of its principles as long as he lived. During the war for the Union he was one
whose patriotic spirit and wise counsel contributed much to inspire the community
with unfaltering devotion to the sacred interests of his country.

Among those who have had a share in moulding the sentiment of the commu-
nity in which he lived, and in forwarding its benevolent undertakings, he must be
regarded as holding an especially prominent place. His irreproachable character
and excellent example as a citizen and Christian will continue to shed their lustre
upon the memory of one whose biography has been identified with this section
from the time when a single log house contained the entire population of Battle
Creek.

REY. THOMAS SPRAGUE,

fourth son of Jonathan and Margaret Sprague, was born in the town of Hanni-
bal, Oswego county, New York, March 11, 1812. He spent his boyhood days on
the home place, and at the age of seventeen experienced religion and joined the
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has ever since been an earnest working
member. His parents were in moderate circumstances, and consequently unable
to bestow on their children the advantages of education, except that afforded at
the common schools. At the age of twenty he commenced working by the month,
and for the next three and a half years, by industry and frugality, he managed to
lay by four hundred dollars. In the fall of 1835. he came to Calhoun County,
and bought a quarter of section No. 11 in Le Roy township, and afterwards re-
turned to his eastern home. There, on the 27th of December, 1835, he married
Miss Mary Mills, and in the spring of the following year packed up what little
effects they possessed, and came to make his permanent home on the land he had
previously purchased. Here he built his eighteen by twenty log house, in the
erection of which he used two pounds of nails and five hundred feet of culled
lumber. When completed, he and his wife made their formal entry ; and it is
safe to say that some of the happiest moments of their lives were passed within
its cosy rooms.

He made his own furniture, — his bedsteads of oak poles, and his tables of the
boxes in which he had brought his goods. They had one cow, and five dollars
left, after getting settled in their little house.

They experienced the usual hardships incident to a newly-settled country. He
had to go twenty-five miles to procure day work, and to buy provisions. He

worked on his farm at odd times, the first year planting four acres of wheat. A
portion of this was sowed on an elevated spot and ripened a little sooner than the
rest, and being in want of flour, which was then sold at ten dollars per hundred-
weight, Mrs. Sprague took her shears and cut the ripened grain, thrashed it with
sticks on a blanket, ground it in her coffee-mill, and made it into bread, which
tasted sweeter far than any they have since eaten. By this time there had been
large accessions to the settlement.

In the spring of 1838, preaching according to the doctrines of the Methodist
church was had in his dwelling; a class was soon afterwards formed, of which
Mr. Sprague is the only surviving member now in the township.

On the 15th of June. 1851, he sustained the loss of his devoted wife, who
died in the triumphs of the Christian faith. This bereavement left him with a
family of six children, five girls and one boy, namely, Jane, Ruth J., Rebecca H.,
Elliot, Milly M., and Antha A., and these requiring a mother's care, he was con-
strained to marry again, which he did, on the 20th of November, 1851, to Miss
Lucy A. Millen, of Wyoming county, New York. Three more children have
been added to his family ; they were named Mary E., Thomas W., and Eddy I.,
all of whom survive, except Mary E., who died when but eight years old. All
but Elliot are members of the church.

Mr. Sprague has been elected to various township offices ; among others, con-
stable, justice of the peace (which he has held twelve years consecutively), high-
way commissioner, and assessor. He was elected the first town constable at the
organization of the township. The first summons he was called upon to serve
was issued by T. B. Barnum, Esq., against Charles Dickey (now Judge Dickey,
of Marshall) ; but not knowing that he had to make his returns to the justice on
or before the day of trial, and failing to do so, lost his fee and had his trip to
Marshall for nothing, which misfortune cured him of the desire for re-election.
He still lives on the farm he settled forty years ago, and devotes his time to its
cultivation. He has always taken a deep interest in religious matters, and in
1849 was appointed leader of the first class organized in East Le Roy. Soon
after this he was licensed to exhort, and held that relation to the church until
July, 1864, when, by the authority of the Methodist Episcopal church, he was
licensed as a local preacher, which position he filled earnestly and well. On the
6th of September, 1868, at the session of the Michigan conference, he was or-
dained by Bishop Ames, and has since spent most of his time during the winter
months in revival meetings with eminent success. He has devoted his time freely
to God, and if he has succeeded in bringing sinners to repentance he has received
the only reward he desires. It was largely owing to his instrumentality that the
East Le Roy church edifice was erected, for he was the largest donator to the
enterprise, giving six hundred dollars towards it, and his wife fifty dollars. He
is a faithful worker in Christ's vineyard and a powerful expounder of the Scrip-
tures. In his secular life he is a good, practical farmer, a pleasant neighbor, a
charitable and upright citizen, and when called hence he will depart like one who

" Wraps the drapery of his couch about him,
And lies down to pleasant dreams.''

HON. JOHN WAGNER

was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, April 18, 1818. He received a good edu-
cation in the German language, and made practical use of it by acquiring also
a fair knowledge of English. He emigrated to America in 1838, and proceeded
to Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained until 1845. It was there that he met
and married Miss Susan Grant, who was born in London, England, April 25,
1823, and emigrated to the United States with her parents when but seven years
old. Her parents were among the oldest and most prominent settlers of Cleve-
land, where they are well known and much respected. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner
raised a family of eleven children, of whom two sons and five daughters survive.
One son and three daughters are married and all comfortably settled in various
parts of the State of Michigan.

In 1845 they removed to Michigan and settled upon eighty acres of land, in-
cluded in section 26, Leroy township. They had no capital but good health and
a desire to succeed. At first Mr. Wagner went to work for different farmers ;
among others, for T. B. Barnum, Esq., who speaks very highly of his industry and
remarkable energy. That gentleman assures us that oftentimes he would put in
an equivalent to eleven working days per week, besides keeping equal pace with
his neighbors in the improvement of his eighty-acre farm. Such a course could
not fail to win ; and there is no wonder that before his death he had accumulated
a neat fortune, owning, as he did, two hundred and forty acres of well-improved
and highly-cultivated land, with some timber.

172

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

The people of the township were not slow in observing his thrift, and so in
1865 they elected him supervisor, which office he filled faithfully and well for
five consecutive years, and then retired only to be elected to the State legislature,
which honor was conferred upon him in 1868. He gave unqualified satisfaction
to his constituents and to the people generally, and it is safe to say that the third
legislative district was never better represented than by him. In 1864 he was
elected township treasurer, and served three years, and was in 1873 again elected
supervisor.

But his useful and honorable career was brought to a close on the 13th of De-
cember, 1876, when the " grim monster" visited the happy household and returned
with the spirit of its head. His death was deeply regretted ; for the loss of a
really meritorious and good citizen always leaves a void not easily filled. Perhaps
no man of his age — he was only a little past fifty-eight — had done more for his
family and for the community which he selected as his adopted home than did
John Wagner. He was universally respected and esteemed as a man of sterling
integrity, excellent business qualifications, sound judgment, and uncommon ability.
These virtues, coupled with unrelenting industry and unfailing energy, conspired
to make him a brilliant example among the self-made men of the day. He was
Republican in politics, in religion liberal. He was an honored member of the
Masonic fraternity, and was interred with the imposing ceremonies of that order.
{See portrait and illustration.')

THOMAS J. FENN.

Among the substantial business men and sound practical farmers of Le Roy
township, none deserve notice at our hands more than does the subject of this
•sketch. Possessing, as he does, many peculiarities, which some define as eccen-
tricities, yet no one can justly impugn his integrity or say aught derogatory to
his general good character.

Thomas J. Fenn was born in Rutland county, Vermont, October 6 1804.
His father, Gideon Fenn, was a farmer in easy circumstances, but he taught his
children to work, and so Thomas J. began his life by working on his father's
farm. Here he remained until the spring of 1837, when he had a desire to go
west, and so emigrated to Wayne county, New York (not considered so very far
west to-day), where he worked a short time, and then purchased a small farm,
on which he remained from 1841 to 1854.

On the 31st of March, 1841, he married Phebe A. Sheppard, who comes of a
highly respectable Newtown, Connecticut, family. She was born in Onondaga
county, New York, December 12, 1813. They removed to Michigan in the
spring of 1854, and purchased and settled on the beautiful and productive farm
they now occupy, containing one hundred and sixty acres, on section 35 of Le Roy
township. He made a public profession of religion in 1828, and joined the
Methodist Episcopal church in 1841. He held the position of steward in the
church to which he belonged in Wayne county, New York, and has always been
a liberal supporter of religious enterprises. He endeavors to live within the pale
of the law, and one of his peculiarities is that he never takes more than seven
per cent, on the money he loans ; lending as much as any man in the township,
he stands alone in this respect. For more than fifty years he has been an advo-
cate of the temperance cause. From the dawn of the principles of abolition, he
has been identified with the representatives of that great movement. His early
training was of a religious character, and his whole life has been a glorious ex-
ample of Christian charity, love, and justice. Nor is his admirable wife behind
him in this respect ; being also a member of the Methodist church, she faithfully
lives up to its teachings and exemplifies the beauties of a true religious life.
Taken all in all, this couple are worthy representatives of the Lord's true followers ;
and passing their lives in his service, doing good according to the best of their
ability, setting a fine example to others, can they not joyfully and hopefully
look forward to a happy life beyond the grave ? When they shall be called upon
to depart hence they will leave behind them a righteous and noble record, and
their works will follow them.

NEWTON TOWNSHIP.

Tins township is known in the old United States survey as town 3 south, of
range 7 west. It did not settle as rapidly as did some of the neighboring town-
ships, for the reason that it contained a considerable quantity of thickly- timbered
openings. It was quite natural that the early settlers should select land that could
be the easiest cultivated for their homes. The township is principally watered by
the Nottawa creek, and there is no place within the limits of the town where there
is sufficient fall for mills. The stream is noted only for the abundance of fish it
contains, and the excellent marsh-hay cut upon its borders.

The first settlers came mostly from western New York, and, with very few ex-
ceptions, possessed barely means enough to purchase their land and the necessary
farming implements and provisions. They were of an intelligent and hardy class,
however, and came generally with a determination to succeed, and they accom-
plished the object they had in view admirably.

The first white settler in the township was Granville Beardslee, who came, ac-
companied by his wife and two daughters, in the fall of 1834, from Rochester,
New York. He settled in* the northeast corner of the township, on sections
1 and 12. He purchased three hundred and sixty acres of land at government
price (one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre), which he converted into a fine
farm. He was a carpenter, having learned the trade in Rochester. He first
erected a board shanty. Of Mr. Beardslee's family, his wife died March 20,
1847 ; his daughter, Harriet, died August 9, 1843 ; Elizabeth, the oldest daugh-
ter, married Mr. John Lowell, and subsequently removed to Denison, Iowa, where
she was living when last heard from. Caroline, now the widow of Charles Cam-
eron, resides in Marshall. Mr. Beardslee lived on his farm until 1864, when he
moved to Battle Creek, where he died in 1867.

Jeremiah and Asa Woodward came in 1835, and settled on section 3. Asa
removed to Emmett, and Jerry remained on the old farm.

George Smith located on the north line of the town as early as 1835, and his
sons, Stephen, George, and Henry, all located fine farms in the same neighbor-
hood. John and George Cameron came from Livingston county, New York, in
the fall of this year, and located on section 17.

The year 1836 was extremely prolific of settlers to the township. We here
append a list of those coming in this year, as nearly complete as possible to pro-
cure, together with the sections on which they located.

Benjamin Chamberlin located on section 15 in July, 1836, and bought the
second frame house in the township in 1837. In the spring of the latter year he
commenced to improve his farm by clearing and plowing fifteen acres, and sow-
ing ten acres of it to wheat. He came from Le Roy, Genesee county, New York,
accompanied by his wife and four-months'-old daughter, who is now the wife of
William A. Coles, of Marshall. He arrived in Marshall on the 8th of September.
He there built a house, in company with Charles Dickey (now Judge Dickey), on
the lot now occupied by the residence of the latter gentleman. Here he went
into the shoe business, — the mechanical part of the business we believe, — and
remained there and on his farm alternately until 1859, when he moved his family
on to his place in Newton, where he has since resided. He has always taken a
commendable interest in matters pertaining to the development and improvement
of the township, and is among its few remaining pioneers. In 1841 he planted a
large orchard, and has since been largely engaged in the cultivation of fruit, in
which he has been remarkably successful.

Moses S. Gleason came this year from Monroe county, New York, and settled
on section 14. He was a man whose name figures conspicuously in the municipal
history of the township. He held several important offices, which he filled hon-
estly and well. He died several years ago, and his widow lived on the farm until
her death, in 1873. The farm is now occupied by their son, E. A. Gleason.
Asa E. and Henry Phelps came from Livingston county, New York. The for-
mer died in 1840, and the widow remained on the old homestead for many years.

Stephen Graham came from Orleans county, New York, and located on the ex-
treme western border of the township, on section 7. He was a man possessed of
an iron constitution, of great energy, and, as a matter of course, he soon made
for himself and family a comfortable home. He died on his farm, in the summer
of 1868. Many who survive him will remember the generous hospitality which
he extended to every one who chanced to come under his roof. John Pearl, his
son-in-law, came at or about the same time, and located an adjoining lot. He,

too, was a man of great force and energy. He improved his own farm, and as
sisted others in clearing theirs. He sold out in 1848, to David Gould, who now
occupies the place. He subsequently settled in Marshall, where he settled the A.
T. Varey place, and afterwards to South Battle Creek, and finally to Emmett,
where he died, in March, 1868.

J. Wright Esmund settled on section 7 ; M. Brinninstool, on section 8 ; R. B.
Young, on section 25 ; James Dowling, on section 31 ; J. C. Osborn, on section
3 ; Daniel Merrill, on section 15.

Among the prominent settlers coming into the township in 1837 were Chris-
topher Fisher, from Orleans county, New York, who settled on section 6, and still
resides there, and Elijah Root, who came from Bedford, Wayne county, Michigan.

In 1838, Lemuel Downs came in and settled on the west half of section 1,
now owned by J. H. Allen. In 1839, John Van Yleet, a good practical farmer
and citizen, came in and settled on section 29.

In 1840, George R. Merchant settled on section 19.

From 1840 to 1877 immigration has been steady. Changes have been fre-
quently made among the living, while death has done its share in depleting the
township of old pioneers.

THE FIRST FARM

was opened by Granville Beardslee, in the spring of 1834. He sowed the first
wheat, planted the first corn, and set out the first orchard in the township, from
which he grew the first apples, peaches, and other fruit.

THE FIRST LOG HOUSE
was erected by Elizur Donnelly, in 1834. It was of hewn logs, and stood for
many years. The first frame house was built by Granville Beardslee, in 1835 ;
as also was the first frame barn, the year following. He, being a carpenter, did
the work himself, with the assistance of his neighbors at the raising of the re-
spective buildings.

THE FIRST IMPROVED STOCK
was brought into the township by Harvey Smith, in 1836. He came from Liv-
ingston county, New York, and brought with him from that county horses, cattle,
and hogs, of improved grades. He was an active, energetic, and enterprising
citizen, and died on his farm, on section 17, many years since.

THE FIRST FEMALE BIRTH

in the township was that of Caroline, daughter of Granville Beardslee, who was
born May 1, 1835. The first male birth was that of Henry Martin, son of Asa
E. Phelps, who was born July 15, 1837, and when about ten years of age removed
to Northampton, Massachusetts.

THE FIRST MARRIAGE

was celebrated in the fall of 1839, the parties to this interesting contract being
Abijah Mack and Miss Alzinia Oakley. The ceremony was performed by Moses
S. Gleason, Esq. They removed to Otrato, Mitchell county, Iowa, in 1854.

The first death was that of Bridge Wakefield, who was accidentally killed by
a load of lumber, which he had got from the Mann saw-mill, in Athens, which
was then operated by Amos Stone. Not returning to his home in Marshall as
soon as expected, his wife sent their son, C. B. Wakefield, and their hired man,
with a team, in search of him. He was found four days after the accident, quite
dead. The horses were barely alive, having subsisted on the grass and the foliage
of the trees within their reach. Jeremiah and Asa Woodward, Hiram Harper,
and John Van Mocke assisted in extricating the body from the lumber, and pro-
ceeded with the remains and team to Marshall. This event cast a gloom over the
little community more lasting than if the " grim monster" had visited them in a

natural manner.

THE FIRST GRAVE-YARD.

The first place regularly laid off for a burying-place was on section 16, on

school-land purchased of the State, at five dollars an acre, in 1838. The first

interment in it was that of Johnny, the two-year-old son of Michael Brinninstool,

the same year.

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNSHIP.

In order to present a sort of chronological arrangement in the preparation of

173

174

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

this history of Newton, it is now necessary to consider the circumstances attending
its erection. Newton was originally included in Burlington township, which con-
tained the whole of the territory now embraced in towns 3 and 4 south, of range
7 west. During the session of the State legislature in 1837-38 several citizens
of Burlington petitioned that body for a division of the township, alleging that
they found it, as then constituted, inconvenient for election and other purposes.
Those signing the petition were Benjamin Chamberlin, Moses S. Gleason, Gran-
ville Beardslee, Daniel Merrill, Stephen J. Smith, Elizur Donnelly, and James
Dowling. In their petition they sent in three names, one of which they requested
might be given to the new township. The names forwarded were Bedford, New-
ton, and Greenfield, all places in Massachusetts, from the former of which Mr.
Chamberlin came, and with the other two he was quite familliar. The legislature
acted on the matter favorably, and selected Newton as the name of the township.

The first township meeting was held at the house of Daniel Merrill, on the
first Monday in April, 1838, of which Elizur Donnelly was chosen moderator,
and Daniel Merrill clerk. The township officers elected at this meeting were —
Stephen Graham, supervisor ; Daniel Merrill, township clerk ; Granville Beards-
lee, James Dowling, and John Pearl, assessors; Elizur Donnelly, Stephen
Graham, and Myron Beed, commissioners of highways; Elijah Boot, Moses S.
Gleason, and William Eastman, inspectors of primary schools; Elijah Boot and
Asa E. Phelps, overseers of the poor ; Henry W. Donnelly, collector and con-
stable ; John Pearl, Isaac C. Osborn, Asa E. Phelps, Ambrose M. Phelps, and
James Bowe, overseers of highways and fence-viewers ; Ambrose M. Phelps, jus-
tice of the peace for four years, Jonathan F. Noble for three years, Moses S.
Gleason for two years, and James Dowling for one year.

" Voted, to raise twenty-five dollars for the support of the poor.

" Voted, to raise twenty-five dollars for the purpose of erecting a bridge near
the residence of William Eastman.

" Voted, to adjourn this meeting to the same place on the first Monday in
April next.

"Daniel Merrill, Clerk"

We annex a list of the supervisors, township clerks, and justices of the peace
who have served the township from 1839 to 1877, as follows:

Supervisors. — B. B. Young (two years), Moses S. Gleason, Stephen Graham
(two years), John Pearl (three years), John Van Yleet (four years), Chauncey
P. Drake, Thomas D. Fletcher (three years), Simeon Baker (three years), Bu-
dolphus Sanderson (nine years), Horatio J. Hendryx, Francis Francisco, C. B.
Underwood, Daniel E. Dibble (two years), present incumbent.

Township Clerks. — Daniel Merrill (three years), Wright J. Esmond (four
years), William Elwood, John Van Vleet, Burr Mitchell (three years), David S.
Treadwell (two years), E. P. Drake (two years), Lorenzo Love, Simeon Baker
(three years), Beuben White, Alonzo B. Treadwell (two years), William A. Boot
(four years), Gardner A. Kelley, Henry J. Carnes, William H. Flanders (three
years), Silas H. Lynn, Asa E. Gleason (three years), George A. Cameron, Henry
S. Pettingill, W. W. Blackett.

Justices of the Peace. — James Dowling (four years), William Eastman (four
years), Moses S. Gleason (twelve years), Harvey Smith, John Pearl (eight years),
A. N. Crawford, John Yan Yleet, Benjamin Chamberlin (twenty-eight years,
1877), William Morton, Harvey Smith, David S. Treadwell, B. S. Knight, Harvey
Talmage, Horatio P. Chase, Michael Brinninstool, Aaron G. Hudson, William
Elwood, Sardius Blodgett (nine years), Elizur Donnelly, Jonathan M. Weed,
Simeon Baker (eight years), Adoniram J. Pettingill (five years), Alonzo B. Tread-
well, Ira Banta, David Gould, William A. Boot, Ferdinand Treadwell, Andrew
H. Phelps, John C. Foster (six years), John M. Weed, H. S. Sanders, James
Latta, Jarvis L. Sutherland (eight years), Fulton Hurd, Hugh S. Sutherland,
David Gould, Gardner A. Kelley, David Woodward, Charles Hilliker (eight
years), 1877, and Clark Lowell.

SCHOOLS.

The early settlers of Newton, like those of other places, evinced a strong interest
in the establishment of educational facilities for their children. We have no
records at hand to show precisely when the first school was taught or by whom,
but the school records of the township show that the township was divided and
districted for school purposes in 1838. The officers of the first meeting held in
the spring of that year were Elijah Boot, Moses S. Gleason, and William East-
man. Three districts were organized, and composed of the following sections, viz. :

District No. 1 included sections 4, 5, and 6, with the exception of the east half
of the southwest quarter of the latter, also section 7, excepting the northwest
quarter of the same; also sections 8, 9, 17, 18, and 19, with the exceptions of
the northeast quarter of section 9 and the east half of section 19 ; also section 20.

District No. 2, comprising sections 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, with the excep-

tions of the north half of sections 11 and 12 and the half of the southeast quarter
of section 11.

District No. 3 contained sections 25, 26, 27, 24, 23 ; also 22, excepting the
southeast quarter of the latter ; also sections 13 and 14 and the east half of the
southeast half of the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 15 ;
and the south half of sections 11 and 12, with the exception of the west half of
the southwest quarter of section 11.

The school inspectors are M. S. Gleason and Elijah Boot. D. Merrill is the clerk.

In 1840 the number of scholars attending the schools was as follows: District
No. 1, between the ages of five and seventeen, 23 ; under five and over seventeen,
3. District No. 2, between five and seventeen, 10 ; under five and over seven-
teen, 14. Joint district 2 and 3, between five and seventeen, 15 ; under five
and over seventeen, 1. District No. 4 (organized 1839), between five and seven-
teen, 6. Total in township, 57.

The first district school-house erected in the township was in district No. 1,
built in 1 839. It was a frame structure, twenty-two by twenty-six feet, with twelve-
feet posts. The old house has been replaced by the present commodious building,
which stands on the same lot, on the southwest corner of section 9.

RELIGIOUS.

The early settlers of Newton were very regular attendants of public worship.
The Presbyterians predominated, the Methodists next, and there were a few Bap-
tists. All met together, and sectarianism was seldom broached in their public or
private circles. Prof. Eastman and Deacon Daniel Merrill were very zealous and
active in procuring and giving religious instruction. Their Sunday-schools and
Bible-classes were well attended. The meetings were usually held in the school-
houses, after such existed, and previously in private dwellings.

THE CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY

was organized in May, 1840, under the pastoral labors of Bev. Joseph Morton.
The first deacons were Daniel Merrill and William Eastman. The original
members were Daniel Merrill, Wm. Eastman and wife, Hulda Merrill, Maria
Merrill, A. H. Phelps, Asa E. Phelps and wife, Martin Phelps and wife, Mr. and
Mrs. Butler, Granville Beardslee and wife, E. Donnelly and wife, Mary A. Don-
nelly, John Fredlinburgh, Mrs. David Jagger, and Mrs. Lemuel Downs. The
church continued to prosper until now, after having been united with the church
at Fredonia. It has a large membership. The accessions under different pas-
torates have been, — under Bev. James Verney, 11 ; under Bev. James Campbell,
18 ; under Bev. Wm. String, the incumbent pastor, 13. Worship is held in the
school-house in Newton, in section 13.

THE METHODIST CHURCH.

Preaching by the Methodists was had as early as 1840, but no regular organi-
zation existed prior to 1869, when a class was formed, of which H. S. Sutherland
was the first class-leader. The constituent members of the class were H. G. Suth-
erland and wife, Anthony Ten Eyck and wife, Sarah Ten Eyck, Mary J. Carr,
Mrs. Emily Sutherland, William Swartwout and wife, W. Schroot, Joseph Still-
well, A. Stillwell, Mrs. Cornelia Williams, Augustus Gould and wife, Jeremiah
Hardenburgh and wife, Jane Hardenburgh, Parmelie Williams, and Loren A.
Blanchard ; in all twenty members.

In 1 874 the class was organized into a church society, and a neat frame edifice
surmounted with a handsome steeple was erected. Its dimensions are thirty-two
by forty-eight feet, and its cost was three thousand dollars ; it will comfortably
seat one hundred and sixty. It was dedicated on the 18th of November of the
same year. The dedicatory exercises were conducted by Bev. Mr. McCarthy, of
Jackson, other clergymen being present. The present membership is thirty-seven.
There have been nine members added uuder the pastorate of the Bev. J. H. Boss,
the present incumbent. The Sunday-school connected with the church was or-
ganized in April, 1875, and the superintendent is Charles B. Lowell. The num-
ber of teachers and scholars is fifty-four. Church society and Sabbath-school are
both in a flourishing condition.

THE FIRST ROAD

running through the township was laid out in April, 1837. It was the road
running from Marshall to Centreville, St. Joseph county. It traversed Newton
from section 13, on the east side of the township, to section 32, in the southern
part of the same. It was surveyed by M. C. Keith, assisted by Sylvanus Beed,
Benjamin Chamberlin, Myron Beed, and others. The commissioners were Abra-
ham Kimble and Elizur Donnelly.

THE FIRST BRIDGE

was built in pursuance of the following vote, passed at the first township meet-
ing: " Voted, that twenty-five hundred dollars be raised for the purpose of

John Potter,

Newton Tp.

MARTHA £. POTTER.

Newtox Tp.

Eluah Root,

NEWTON m

Henry Francisco.

fiEWTON TP.

Emeune Francisco.

flEWTOH Tp.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

175

building a bridge across the Nottawa creek, near the residence of William East-
man." It was a primitive log structure, built in 1838 ; but it served the pur-
poses of the inhabitants, for there was not very much travel in those days.

THE FIRST POST-OFFICE AND MAIL ROUTE

was established in September, 1839. Moses S. Gleason was appointed the first
postmaster. John Hogan, of Centreville, was the first mail-carrier, whose route
extended from that place to Marshall. He first used a pair of horses and wagon,
and subsequently established a regular stage route, in 1868, with a genuine old-
fashioned stage and four. He was of Hibernian extraction, and oftentimes
amused the passengers and people with his Irish witticisms. He will be pleasantly
remembered by many as a genial, rough-and-ready sort of an individual, a careful
driver, and an honest man.

Daniel S. Culver kept the office in 1857 ; and the present postmaster is Richard
W. Elwood.

THE TRADES.
There have never been any mills or extensive manufactories in Newton, but
the principal trades were represented at an early day. We find that the first set-
tler, Granville Beardslee, was also the first carpenter ; that J. Wright Esmond
was the first cooper ; and the first blacksmith was Nathaniel Odell. These all
worked more or less at their respective trades, and were good artisans generally.

THE FIRST STORE

was started by and kept in the house of Richard W. Elwood, on section 21, at an
early day. He brought in a stock of goods, consisting of groceries and notions,
and retailed them to the settlers. He had the now familiar placard "Terms
Cash" in a conspicuous place over his door, and he generally adhered to that rule.
One of the cherished institutions of Newton is its grange, of which we give a
brief history, as follows:

HOME GRANGE, NO. 129,

was organized on the 24th of November, 1873. Its charter members were R.
Sanderson, C. B. Knight, D. M. Graham, J. L. Sutherland, A. F. Johnson,
W. G. Hyland, C. W. Cary, J. A. Weed, C. Cary, C. Fisher, L. Hurd, W. P.
Taming, F. Francisco, William Stomard, A. E. Gleason, C. E. Foster, H. S.
Sutherland, George Cameron, 0. W. Root, W. A. Root, W. G. Carnes, P. Jen-
ney, L. Talmage, and their wives, C. Northrop, and G. Knight. The first officers
were: Master, R. Sanderson; Overseer, J. A. Weed; Lecturer, C. B. Knight;
Steward, J. L. Sutherland; Assistant Steward, C. H. Northrop; Chaplain, C. Cary
(resigned, and H. S. Sutherland appointed) ; Treasurer, George Cameron ; Secre-
tary, A. F. Johnson; Gate-keeper, C. M. Cary; Ceres, Mrs. C. B. Knight;
Pomona, Mrs. A. F. Johnson ; Flora, Mrs. R. Sanderson ; Lady Assistant
Steward, Mrs. J. A. Weed.

The officers elected at the last annual meeting (1877) were: Master, A. E.
Gleason ; Overseer, C. H. Northrop ; Lecturer, Mrs. A. P. Talmage ; Steward,
A. P. Talmage ; Assistant Steward, A. P. Gleason ; Treasurer, Wm. A. Root ;
Secretary, George A. Cameron ; Gate-keeper, 0. W. Root ; Ceres, Mrs. Mary
Root ; Pomona, Mrs. A. P. Gleason ; Flora, Mrs. G. Knight ; Lady Assistant
Steward, Mrs. G. A. Cameron. The grange is well officered, and in a prosperous
condition.

Note. — We tender acknowledgments to Messrs. Benj. Chamberlin, George
Cameron, Mrs. Elizabeth Cameron, of Marshall, and others, for assistance in the
compilation of the history of the township.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

BENJAMIN CHAMBERLIN.

This gentleman, now one of the oldest pioneers in Newton township, was born
in Bedford, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, June 22, 1806. At the age of
thirteen he was apprenticed to the shoemaking trade, and, after attaining his
majority, worked as a journeyman in the State until October, 1829, when he
removed to Livingston county, New York, and in the following spring to Le Roy,
Genesee county, New York, and there commenced the boot and shoe business, and
remained in that place until 1836. Three years previous he married Miss Calista
B. Brown, of Litchfield, Connecticut, at Le Roy. In the spring of that year he
sold out his stock of goods, and made the necessary arrangements to emigrate to
Michigan. In July he came and located his farm and other lands at the land-
office at Kalamazoo. Before returning for his family he contracted with Joseph
Ames and Harman Neale, of Marengo, to meet him at Detroit on the 3d of Sep-
tember of the same year, with teams and covered wagons, to remove his family
and household goods to Marshall. On the 28th of August he and his family left
Le Roy with teams for Buffalo, where they arrived on the second morning after
starting. There they embarked on the steamer "Columbus," Captain Walker
commanding, and, after a rough passage on the lake, arrived on the third day out
at Detroit. There they found Messrs. Ames and Neale, and after weighing their
goods they loaded up and started on their journey to Marshall. The weather was
fine, and the roads were tolerably good, so that they arrived at their destination
on the fourth day. They paid their teamsters four dollars per hundred pounds
for bringing in their goods, leather, provisions, etc. At four o'clock p.m. on Sep-
tember 8, 1836, they went into the house, on Green street, that Mr. C. had rented
of Dr. A. L. Hays on his former visit, paying his rent in advance in order to
secure the house, as dwellings were not very plentiful in those days. He occupied
a part of this house until October, by which time the new house he had erected,
in company with Wm. C. Dickey, now probate judge of this county, was ready
for occupancy.

He opened a boot and shoe shop on the corner of Main and Eagle streets, and
remained there until March, 1837, when he moved into the building now occu-
pied by Andrew Watson. He continued in business there until July 1 of the
same year, when he moved on the farm he now occupies in Newton township.

Mr. C. has been elected justice of the peace a number of times, and has held
various other township offices, which he has filled honestly and well. He is a
good practical farmer, and a man generally well posted. An illustration of his
residence and farm can be seen elsewhere in this work.

PENNFIELD TOWNSHIP.

The first step towards the settlement of this township was taken in 1831, by
Albert H. Smith, who, on the 10th of December of that year, entered a tract of
land, a portion of which is now occupied by Colonel William C. Fonda, who
took up his permanent residence thereon in the year 1836. This constitutes a
part of section 29. Mr. Smith never became an actual settler, being an early
settler and then a resident of Climax. In 1834, Avery Lamb and Ezra Convis
entered land in this township, and the year following the first actual settlement
was made by Estes Rich, who was undoubtedly the first white settler in the town-
ship. He came in from Massachusetts, and possessed many fine qualities, and
was in every respect admirably adapted to become the pioneer of a new settle-
ment. He first settled at or near the present city of Marshall in 1831, and in the
spring of 1835 he broke the first ground on the farm now, and since 1836, owned
and occupied by Samuel Convis. He tilled thirty acres that season, twenty of
which he put to wheat. He sold the place, which is a part of section 32, to Mr.
Convis in 1836, receiving therefor one thousand dollars. Mr. Rich removed to
Barry county, where he resided until his removal to Kansas in 1872, where he is
still living.

The year succeeding the settlement of Mr. Rich, namely, 1836, was prolific of
settlers, and that too of the permanent and substantial sort. We give the names
of some of the most prominent. of these pioneers:

Samuel Convis, as before stated, purchased the Rich place this year. Jabez
Lamb settled at the forks of Battle creek and Wandago streams, on section 21.
Samuel D. Moore put up his habitation, one of the primitive kind, on section 27.
Charles McMurray and Isaac Bodine, on John Cooper's place, on section 33.
In the northern part of the town, in section 4, John L. Paddock, John Wolf, and
one Sanders settled and put up their log houses, one of which stands to-day a
venerable landmark. Henry Parsons came in from Massachusetts the same year;
also David Bonton, who settled on section 4. W. K. Adams and his son John
S. located on section 8. Barnabas Newton, from the State of New York, settled
on his present farm, on section 16; John S. Halladay, on section 21 ; Stephen
M. Aldrich, on section 23 ; and Samuel P. Wells, on section 25. Asa Weare, J.
P. Markham, Anson Sharpsteen, Warren Joy, and Mason Morey came in 1836.
The year following John S. GifFord, Eli Morey, and Rufus Wells came in. Eras-
tus, William, and Orrin Marshall, Erastus Mason, and Moses Johnson came in
in 1838.

Among the old pioneers still remaining are Samuel Convis, Wm. C. Fonda,
Barnabas Newton, John L. Paddock, William Hicks, J. P. Markham, George
Lowree, Alexander Gordon, John and Wm. Knowles, John Wolf, John S. GifFord,
and the Marshalls.

THE FIRST FARM

opened in the township was by Estes Rich, in the spring of 1835. He is also
rightfully accredited with having sowed the first wheat in the township, on the
same farm, and in the same year. Also with having erected the first log house,
one of those primitive structures which are now giving place to the more preten-
tious, if not more comfortable, dwellings.

THE FIRST WEDDING-CEREMONY

performed within the present limits of Pennfield township was at the house of
Anson Sharpsteen, on section 36, in the fall of 1837 : William G. Wheaton and
Amanda Parker, sister of Mrs, Sharpsteen, being the happy couple. In the win-
ter of the same year Thomas G. Bird and Betsey Knowles were likewise united.
These two events, transpiring as they did within a brief period, having given rise
to some dispute as to priority, we have taken extra trouble to ascertain the
facts. We believe the above statement to be authentic.

THE FIRST FEMALE BIRTH

was that of Palmyra Wells, in February, 1836, in the old log house erected by
her father, Joseph E. Wells, on section 35.

The first male birth was that of Isaac Lamb, who was born on the 22d of
December, 1836.

The first death occurring in Pennfield was that of Miss Emeline Weare, the
youthful daughter of Asa Weare, who died in her father's house, on section 36,
in the fall of 1836.
176

The first demise of an adult was that of William Knowles, a member of the
society of Friends, who died in the spring of 1837, and was interred in the
Friends' burying-ground at Battle Creek.

THE FIRST SERMON

preached in the town was by Elder Elijah Crane, at the house of George Lowree,
whose dwelling was a regular place for religious worship, in which preaching was
had every four weeks, prior to the erection of a school-house. The first resident
local preacher was Samuel D. Moore. The township has been supplied with
preaching according to the doctrines of the Methodist persuasion, with few lapses,
ever since its earliest settlement. In an early day a class was regularly formed,
of which Mr. Lowree was chosen leader, which position he has held for nigh unto
forty years. There has never been a church edifice erected ; the commodious
school-houses, being well adapted, are generally utilized for religious services.

Mr. Samuel Convis is accredited with having erected the first frame house in
the township. It was a neat structure, thirty-two by twenty-two feet, and was
built in the spring of 1838. He also put up the first frame barn in Pennfield.
Its dimensions were thirty-tw r o by forty-four feet. He procured his lumber from
the saw-mill at Maple Grove.

The first brick house was built by Samuel D. Moore, about the year 1845, and
is at present occupied by his son, G. C. Moore.

THE FIRST SCHOOL

in the township was held in a log house, erected by John Wolf as a tenant-house,
in the spring of 1838. It was taught by Lucy Y. Hicks, now the wife of Daniel
S. Chase. There were seven scholars, namely, George and William Raymond,
Charles Paddock, and Ann, Eliza, Sophia, and Hannah M. Wolfe.

THE FIRST POST-OFFICE

established in Pennfield was kept by Lorenzo Holton, in 1852. It w r as subse-
quently kept by John S. Adams until the construction of the Grand River Valley
railroad, when it was discontinued.

A stage was run from Battle Creek to Charlotte by one Baughman about the
year 1850. He carried the mail.

THE FIRST ROAD.

An examination of the earliest road docket in existence shows that the first
road surveyed in the township, after its organization, was laid out July 6, 1838.
The road commences 5 chains and 30 links west of the corner of sections 3, 4,
10, and 11, runs west 74 chains and 30 links on the section-line between sections
3 and 4, and ends at the corner of sections 3 and 4, 9 and 10. F. Burgess was
the surveyor, Barnabas Newton, Jason Evans, and Rodney McAllister, commis-
sioners of highways.

THE FIRST BLACKSMITH'S SHOP
established in the township was by Peter Pierre, a French refugee from Canada,
in 1839. He came into the township in a very impecunious condition, and
Messrs. R. E. Knight and William Hicks purchased tools and set him up as a
blacksmith. He was an industrious man and a good workman, and paid for the
tools by work for the gentlemen who assisted him so materially.

THE FIRST GRAVE- YARD

was laid out in 1837, on land donated by Ezra Convis, and by him surveyed.
The first interment was that of an elderly gentleman by the name of Stewart,
who was buried there in 1837.

CIVIL ORGANIZATION.

In February, 1838, a petition was presented to the legislature praying for a
division of the township of Milton, it -'being too extensive for election and other
purposes," etc. The organization was effected April 2, 1838, and the name
Pennfidd was given the new township, in honor of the great and good William
Penn, being a choice of three names suggested,— Pennfield, Springfield, and Plain-
field. The first township meeting was held at the school-house in Yerona village
(a part of which is in Pennfield). We quote from the records of the township :

-^CUKCCm^

4^'

f cn-de~*v ,

mm

Residence of A.GORDON, Fznnfield Tr, Calhoun Co, Michigan .

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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

177

" According to appointment of the house of representatives of the State of
Michigan, the electors of the township of Pennfield convened at the school-house
in the village of Yerona, for the purpose of holding their first town-meeting. On
motion, John Wolf was chosen moderator, and Samuel D. Moore secretary pro
tern. The chairman and secretary having sworn each other, it was duly proclaimed
by the moderator that the polls of this meeting be now opened for the purpose of
receiving the votes for township officers and other business of the meeting.
" Yoted, to adjourn this meeting till half-past one p.m.

" Met according to adjournment, and the moderator declared the polls again
open for votes.

" Then proceeded to the election of overseers of highways in the several road-
districts, whereupon the following were chosen overseers for the districts as below
named :

" Samuel Convis, No. 1 ; John L. Paddock, No. 2 ; William Hicks, No. 3 ;
Rudolphus E. Knight, No. 4 ; Charles McMurray, No. 5 ; Samuel D. Moore,
No. 6 ; Warren Joy, No. 7 ; George Lowree, No. 8 ; Andrew Vanacker, No. 9 ;
and John Knowles, No. 10.

" It was then voted to raise the sum of forty-nine dollars and ninety cents for
the appropriation of roads and bridges in the township.

" Yoted, to raise fifty dollars for the relief of the township poor.
" Yoted, that Charles Sentell be appointed sealer of weights and measures.
" Yoted, that all path-masters shall be fence-viewers in their respective dis-
tricts.

" Yoted, that four and a half feet be the lawful height for fences ; and that
rails shall not be laid over four and a half inches apart in any fence under two
and a half feet from the ground.

" Yoted, that all hogs be lawful commoners.

" About five p.m. the ballot-box was turned, and, the votes being counted, it
was found that there was no choice of supervisor, there being a tie between R. E.
Knight and Jabez Lamb.

" John S. Gifford was elected town-clerk by a majority of one vote over Samuel
D. Moore.

" Eli Morey and Henry Parsons were chosen justices of the peace ; David
Bouton and Henry Parsons, assessors ; John L. Pollock, Stephen M. Aldrich, and
Joseph E. Wells, commissioners of highways ; Eli Morey and Asa Weare, over-
seers of the poor ; George Lowree, collector ; Elijah M. Morey and John L.
Paddock, constables, Rodney McAllister, John S. Gilford, and R. E. Knight,
inspectors of primary schools.

" No other choice of officers was made, and the meeting was dissolved.

S. D. Moore, Clerk pro tern.
" The above officers were all sworn and qualified except John L. Paddock,
Stephen M. Aldrich, and Joseph E. Wells, chosen commissioners of highways ;
John L. Paddock, elected constable; Rodney McAllister, elected school-inspector;
and Eli Morey, overseer of the poor.

J. S. Gifford, Township Clerk."
Owing to several of those elected failing to qualify according to law, and also
to a number of tie votes, the township was not properly officered until the 8th of
May following, when the complement was filled.

We hereto append a complete list of the supervisors, township clerks, and jus-
tices of the peace from 1839 to 1876 inclusive.

Supervisors. — Warren Joy (three years), R. E. Knight (four years), Rodney
McAllister, John W. Harris, Charles P. Baldwin (four years), John S. Adams
(four years), Orrin Marshall, David Bouton (four years), Joseph P. Beach (seven
years), Orlando Brown (two years), Charles C. Gould (two years), Samuel G.
Gorsline (three years), present incumbent.

Clerks.— John S. Gifford (two years), R. E. Knight, J. P. Markham (four
years), John S. Adams (two years), John B. Palmerston (two years), Samuel
Convis, Orrin Marshall (four years), Henry Parsons, David Keeler (three years),
David Bouton, George H. Rowell (two years), John W. Arnold, Richard Keeler
(four years), John McAllister, Samuel G. Gorsline (three years). G. C. Hicks
is the deputy town-clerk.

Justices of the Peace. — Eli Morey (one year), Henry Parsons (fifteen years),
Samuel D. Moore (eleven years), William Hicks (four years), Joseph E. Wells,
John S. Gifford (fifteen years), William C. Fonda, Oliver Bates, David Young,
George Lowree (eight years), Ebenezer S. Jones, John L. Paddock (eight years),
Oliver Bates, Calvin P. White, Simon Y. Carr, Barnabas Newton, John Farliss,
Charles P. Baldwin, Orlando Brown, David Keeler, C. P. White, Moses Rowell,
Orrin Marshall, Charles H. Marvin, Benjamin Keeler, Hiram Conover, George
H. Williams, Matthew R. Taylor, Asa Hoyt, William M. Lee, Philo Boswick,
Robert B. Watts (eight years), Charles H. Marvin, George S. Sterling (eight
23

years), Edmund Sutton, Solomon S. Hicks, Richard S. Pool, Joseph B. Watts,
George C. Hicks, Joseph P. Beach (eight years, and present incumbent, and the
two last preceding).

PENNFIELD GRANGE, NO. 85, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY.

At a meeting of several prominent farmers of Pennfield township, at the Hicks
school-house, on the 6th of October, 1873, a farmers' grange, designated " Grange
No. 85," was organized, with the following charter members:

G. C. Hicks, Richard Keeler, W. N. Woodworth, Barnabas Newton, E. M.
Brown, E. H. Hicks, Caleb Garrett, Carolus H. Burtch, M. F. Johnson, S. E.
Woodworth, Andrew Huguesine, Calvin P. White, J. Y. Hicks, R. S. Pool,
Marvin Cannon, and their wives, and John W. Adams. The first officers, elected
at this meeting, were Master, Silas E. Woodworth; Overseer, Calvin P. White;
Lecturer, R. S. Pool; Steward, E. H. Hicks; Assistant Steward, W. N. Wood-
worth ; Chaplain, M. K. Johnson ; Treasurer, John Y. Hicks ; Secretary, Richard
Keeler; Gate-keeper, E. M. Brown; Ceres, Mrs. E. H. Hicks; Pomona, Mrs. J.
Y. Hicks; Flora, Mrs. E. M. Brown; Lady Assistant Steward, Mrs. C. G. Hicks.

The election of officers at the annual meeting, held December 29, 1876, re-
sulted as follows :

Master, Richard S. Pool; Overseer, C. P. White; Lecturer. Mrs. Wm. Mor-
gan; Steward, E. H. Hicks; Assistant Steward, Alson F. Mead; Chaplain, Wil-
liam Morgan ; Treasurer, Ransom C. Pool ; Secretary, G. C. Hicks ; Gate-keeper,
Silas E. Woodworth; Ceres, Miss R. C. Pool; Pomona, Miss Ada C. Hicks;
Flora, Mrs. Louisa L. Evans; Lady Assistant Steward, Mrs. Margaret Hicks.
The grange is in a generally flourishing and prosperous condition, its member-
ship having increased in three years from thirty-one to eighty-three, the present
enrollment.

MEMORANDA.

Among other similar records we find the subjoined, and, as it is a fair criterion
of the general feeling of the voters of the township during the rebellion, it will
doubtless be of interest ; at least, it deserves to be handed down in the pages of
history as a sample of the lasting patriotism of the people of Pennfield township.

" At a special meeting held at the Joy school-house, August 16, 1864, Charles
H. Marvin and Joseph P. Beach having been duly sworn as inspectors of elec-
tion, and Richard Keeler as clerk thereof, the polls were declared open ; but
before any votes were received the following resolution was presented before the
meeting, viz. :

" Resolved , That we vote to raise fifteen hundred dollars to pay one hundred
dollars to each man who may have been credited, or who may enlist and be ac-
cepted, or furnish a substitute to fill the quota for the town of Pennfield, on the
last call for volunteers ; and those voting to raise the money will vote for Bounty
Fund yes, and those opposed will vote for Bounty Fund NO ; and that the town-
ship board be authorized to issue bonds, payable on the 1st day of February, 1866,
as provided for in the ' State bounty clause.' "

The whole vote polled was 53, and, to the honor and patriotism of the voters
be it said, there was not a dissenting vote.

FIRST improved machinery.

The first thrasher was brought into Pennfield by William Hicks, in 1850.
The first reaper and mower was introduced by Alexander Gordon, on the east
side of the creek, and by Samuel Convis on the west side of the creek, in 1861.
Several were brought in about the same time, by different persons ; nearly every
prominent farmer recognized their utility and purchased one.

STREAMS IN PENNFIELD TOWNSHIP.

The township of Pennfield is watered by Battle creek, which runs through
sections 32 and 28, and in section 21 joins the Wanandoger creek, which tra-
verses the rest of the township, from section 21 to section 4, northerly. From
its juncture with the latter stream Battle creek runs northeasterly through sec-
tions 22, 23, 13, and 12, leaving the township on the eastern border of the latter.
The north and west parts of the township are watered by Bear lake and St.
Mary's lake, while in various other parts of the township are lakes of lesser
magnitude.

Among the prominent farmers of Pennfield are Alexander Gordon, Samuel
Convis, William C. Fonda, J. B. Holcomb, J. P. Markham, C. P. White, J.
Cooper, A. Sharpstein.

We are pleased to acknowledge the receipt of many courtesies and favors in
the compilation of the history of Pennfield, from William Hicks, Samuel Convis,
Barnabas Newton, Alexander Gordon, and others.

BIOGKAPHIOAL SKETCHES.

PHOTO. BY CRI8PELL.

MATTHEW ATMORE.

MRS. MATTHEW ATMORE.

MATTHEW ATMORE

was born in the year 1796, in the town of Foulden, county of Norfolk, England.
He remained on his father's farm until 1823, when, in August of that year, he
married, and started at farming on his own account, which he continued to do
for the next twenty years, in his native land. In 1843 he had to succumb to re-
peated misfortunes, and became bankrupt. Then, finding all hopes of retrieving
his fallen fortunes futile, he emigrated to " the land of the free and the home of
the brave," where, by industry and perseverance, he knew he could succeed. Ac-
companied by his wife and eleven children, he embarked at London, on the 13th
of March, 1843, and landed in New York on the 10th of April following. His wife
fell sick on the voyage, so that on landing she had to be conveyed to the hospital,
where her husband stayed by her until she recovered. In the mean time the
children were sent on with Mr. Henry Holmes, a friend of the family, who settled
in Michigan also.

After his wife's convalescence they started for Detroit, where they arrived in
due time. There he hired a man and team to bring the baggage to Marshall,
himself and the boys coming with it, and his wife and the girls on the cars as far
as Jackson, and thence to Marshall by stage. He rented a farm of J. D. Pierce,
who resided at Ceresco, but did not succeed as a renter, except in all of the family
getting the ague, and expending what little they made for quinine and calomel.
He next purchased a farm of eighty acres, being the east half of the north-
west quarter of section 34, in the township of Pennfield. He was under obliga-
tions to a Quaker brother in England for the money with which to make the
purchase.

He moved on to the farm in the spring of 1845, and went earnestly to work
'to clear up the land. He had nothing but an ox-team, which they found difficult
178

to manage, not being conversant with a " blue beech" and " haw and gee." He
was obliged to go to work on the railroad, placing the mud-sills on the bed of the
road, himself and team receiving twelve shillings a day. He paid a dollar and a
half a week for board, which consisted principally of johnny-cake, of which he
was not passionately fond, so to speak. It was very hard indeed for the first two
or three years, but by persevering industry and a firm belief in the trite old say-
ing that " good pluck makes good luck," he overcame the difficulties and hard-
ships which all beginners in a new country experience, and has gradually but
surely succeeded. He has paid his debts, fitted up good buildings, added stock,
etc., to the farm, and now lives comfortably.

Early in life Mr. Atmore was an Episcopalian, but at the age of twenty-five he
joined the Methodist church, and for twenty years in England was an esteemed
local preacher. He has officiated also in that capacity in America at different
times. In politics, he is a Republican, although for the first few years after be-
coming a citizen of the United States he voted with the Democracy. He saw the
error of his ways, and, like a sensible man and a good citizen, turned from them.

In October, 1866, he, in company with Mr. Thomas Knight, of Ceresco, made
a trip to England, and, after a sojourn of six months, returned again to the home
of their adoption. In 1871 he went to California, and paid a visit to each of his
three sons who reside there. In July, 1875, he wen^to see two of his daughters
who live in Nebraska, and a son who has settled in Missouri.

Mr. Atmore is now eighty-one years of age, and, up to within a few months, has
enjoyed excellent health. Having lived a temperate life, and having served his
Master faithfully, he enjoys the hope of that blissful life beyond the gravfc. He
has fulfilled the scriptural injunction, " Be fruitful and multiply," for he has now
living eleven children, fifty-four grandchildren, and twenty-one great-grand-
children, a total of eighty-six souls.

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Residence. or J.P. MARKHAM, PemnheldTr, Calhoun Co,Mich.

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

179

SAMUEL CONVIS.

Among those intimately identified with the early growth and subsequent develop-
ment of Battle Creek and its vicinity, none deserve more honorable mention than
does he of whom we write. Indeed, we feel as though no history of Calhoun County
would be complete without a somewhat extended notice of the subject of this sketch.
Coming here as he did when there were but three or four log cabins on the present
site of the city of Battle Creek, and when a hewn log house constituted the grandest
architectural monument of the future city, and having lived here and assisted in
the growth and progress of the city for many years prior to assuming the ownership
and management of an extensive farm, to him certainly is due the honor of being
classed among the most prominent pioneers of the county.

Samuel Convis was born in Vermont, December 18, 1808. When quite a child
his parents removed to Chautauqua county, New York, and settled on a farm,
where he first learned those habits of industry and self-reliance which have been
largely instrumental in his subsequent success.

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Convis married Miss Matilda G-age, who was born
May 4, 1811, at Winfield, Herkimer county, New York. They had five children
born to them, of whom three survive. Charles Bradley was born March 23, 1831 ;
Manley D. was born May 12, 1832, and died October 4, 1838 ; Caroline M. was
born November 19, 1835 ; Sarah L. was born March 7, 1837, died May 30, 1838 ;
Ann A. was born February 15, 1839 ; Samuel A. was born February 8, 1846.
On the 22d of August, 1860, Mr. Convis sustained the loss of his estimable wife,
who was in every respect a worthy partner in his early struggles, and a sharer in
all his trials and cares. She was a dutiful and loving wife, a fond mother, a firm
friend, and a steadfast Christian. Respected by a numerous circle of friends, her
death was keenly felt as an irreparable loss alike to her family and relatives, and
to the community in which the major portion of her exemplary life had been
passed.

On the 14th of February, 1861, Mr. Convis married again, this time choosing
Mrs. Harriet L. Bliss, daughter of Mr. John Forshey, a respected resident of Ross
township, this county. This union has been blessed with one son, — Carlton Ezra,
— who was born August 12, 1874.

Mr. Convis has been honored with several offices of trust, both in the township
in which he first settled (the original township of Milton) and that in which he
has resided for more than forty years. His trusts have always been honorably
fulfilled, for in his public as well as in his private transactions a sense of high
honor and unswerving integrity have been among his most prominent character-
istics. Beginning life with comparatively nothing, by a strict application to his
business, and by a commendable industry and sensible economy, he has accumu-
lated a fair competence both for himself and children. He now owns a fine farm
and a comfortable residence, and enjoys that which is eminently better than wealth,
— the confidence and esteem of all who know him, and the conscious pride that
the knowledge of having lived a just and useful life always insures.

J. P. MARKHAM.

This gentleman was born at Enfield, Hartford county, Connecticut, September
29, 1813. His parents were poor, but highly respectable; but respectability,
when not accompanied by wealth, does not insure advantages, such as education
and intellectual culture, so that the subject of this sketch never received any
considerable amount of book-knowledge ; but, being a genuine Yankee, he ac-
quired a large amount of practical experience, which in the end is a good substi-
tute for extensive educational acquirements. When but seven years old his father
died, and his mother (who still survives in New York, aged ninety years) being
unable to support the family, the boys were bound out to different persons, who
gave them homes, and generally agreed to teach them a trade. The selectmen
of the town board bound young J. P. out to a man by the name of Caleb Jones,
who proved a hard master, and used every kind of severity towards him, until,
after enduring his cruelty for seven years, he ran away and worked around in one
place and another for about a year, and then went into western New York,
» locating finally in Genesee county (now Wyoming county). Here he learned the
grain-cradle manufacturing trade, at which he worked for a number of years,
until he had accumulated two or three hundred dollars. In the fall of 1835 he
removed to Michigan, then a territory, and located one hundred and sixty acres
of land in town 1, north of range 7 west, and went to farming. On the 10th of
May, 1836, he got married, and erected his log house, and then went to work
clearing and improving his farm, having moved on to it the day he was twenty-
three years old. He worked hard, and broke up the land and fenced his farm.
They raised five children, one son and four daughters, and all went happily along

until the 9th of August, 1847, when his wife died. After mourning her loss for
nearly two years, on the 30th of June, 1849, he married again, and raised a second
family of five children — one daughter and four sons. He continued to farm to
the best of his ability, and had a fair average success. In the winter of 1850 he
began to deal in patent rights, at which he worked during nearly every succeeding
winter, attending to his farming during the summer months. He has been emi-
nently successful in his patent-right transactions, always endeavoring to get hold
of and to introduce a useful article.

Mr. Markham has held several township oflices, all of which he has filled
honestly and well. He deservedly enjoys the respect of the community in which
he resides, and is generally considered a good neighbor and a reliable business
man. (See illustrations.)

ALEXANDER GORDON.

Alexander Gordon, son of Judge Gordon, of Connecticut, and brother of J.
Wright Gordon, who served as governor of the State of Michigan in 1841-42,
was born in Windham county, Connecticut, in February, 1813. When seventeen
years of age he removed with his parents to the State of New York. Soon after
removing to New York State, he, having a capital of three hundred and seventy
dollars, hired a farm of eight hundred acres, of George Bennett, in Ontario
county, for which he paid four hundred dollars per annum. This farm was pleas-
antly situated about two and a half miles from Geneva. He remained on the
place for two years only, when he purchased a farm of one hundred and forty-four
acres, at a cost of twenty-seven dollars per acre, in Seneca county, on the banks
of Seneca lake, paying seventeen hundred dollars at purchase, and giving bond
and mortgage for the remainder. After adding all needful improvements and
placing the farm under good cultivation, which occupied him about six years, he
sold for fifty-five dollars an acre. He then moved with his parents to Michigan,
and purchased a farm of two hundred acres in Pennfield township. After erecting
a frame house for his brother at Marshall, he built a log one for himself and
parents. He then commenced breaking up the oak opening on the farm, and got it
under cultivation ; and by subsequent purchases has added to his landed possessions
until he now owns eighteen hundred acres, located in the townships of Pennfield
and Convis, and is the most extensive farmer in those townships, and exceeded
by none in the county. His farms are well supplied with stock, and have good,
substantial buildings. In 1853 he married Miss Phoebe C. Gifford, of Pennfield,
by whom he had six children, four sons and two daughters, five surviving, namely,
James,'born March 22, 1854, and married Miss Ida De Shon, November 3, 1874 ;
Edward G. 3 born January 18, 1857 ; Katie H., born March 19, 1860 ; Louise
P., born October 27, 1862 ; Maurice S., born April 8, 1869. Mr. Gordon has
been a very successful agriculturist. This, perhaps, is owing as much as anything
to the fact that he farms his land scientifically. He has the reputation of being
one of the best practical farmers in the county. As a business man he has also
been quite fortunate, for, while being economical, he always fulfills all engagements
honorably. He is generally looked upon as one of the substantial men of his
township, and t is considered a good citizen generally. (See illustration and
portraits.)

WILLIAM HICKS.

Among the many pleasant things of life is the recounting of the scenes of the past,
the joys and pleasures of childhood, and the sterner realities of advancing years.
It is equally pleasant and instructive to read the early history, trials, and struggles
of our ancestors, to see what hardships they were called upon to endure, as early
pioneers of the then almost unknown country of the far west.

The following lines recount some of the leading incidents of the long and
eventful life of William Hicks and his esteemed wife. He was born in Charles-
ton, Saratoga county, New York, April 10, 1792. His parents were natives of
the State of New York. His father, William Hicks, was born in Dutchess county,
and his mother, Miss Abigail Brown, was born on Long Island. His father was
bound out to learn the blacksmith trade when a boy, and when seventeen years of
age his master sold the balance of his time to the British as a soldier in the Rev-
olution. His mother's folks sympathized with the British, and were banished to
Nova Scotia. After the close of the war he located one hundred acres of land
on his British land-warrant in Nova Scotia, on the present site of the city of St.
Johns. It was here that he became acquainted with and married his wife. But
the spirit of freedom once enjoyed always makes any other form of government

180

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

intolerable, and as soon as expedient they returned to the States, where they
settled in Charleston, New York. Here, soon after their return, a son was born
to them, whose life we here chronicle. His parents were limited in means, and
having a large family to provide for they were only able to give him the rudi-
ments of an education. He had four brothers and four sisters, all of whom he
survives except one brother.

At the age of twenty-one he enlisted in the State militia, and was attached to
the command of General Wade Hampton. His time of service continued only
fifty-eight days, which, unfortunately, is two days short of the time to entitle him
to a pension as a soldier in the war of 1812.

On, the 24th of February, 1816, he married Miss Nabby Younglove, of Edin-
burg, New York, and soon removed to Richmond, Ontario county, New York,
where he resided about ten years, and then removed to Sheldon, Genesee county,
New York, where they also resided about ten years, prior to coming to Michigan
in 1836. Mrs. Hicks' family were natives of Connecticut, but early removed to
Gilford, Windham county, Vermont, where she was born, on the 10th of July,
1797. Their union was blessed with nine children, — five sons and four daughters,
— seven of whom are now living, two of the daughters having passed away after
arriving at womanhood. Their children were all born in New York, except the
youngest, who was born in Michigan. They have twenty- two grandchildren now
living, and three great-grandchildren. Their children have all settled near the
old homestead, except one of the daughters, Mrs. Philo Dunsmore, who resides
in Ingham county, Michigan, and all have pleasant and happy homes. To
move to Michigan when they did seemed almost like going beyond the pale of
civilization, and in fact such was nearly literally the case, for there were no civilized
communities or society existing here at that time. There was only here and there
a sturdy pioneer, who had penetrated the wilderness in advance of them. Neigh-
bors often lived several miles apart. Mr. Hicks located eighty acres of land near
his present home, and now owned by S. E. Woodworth, where his labors of
changing a wild tract of land into a home began on the 18th of September, 1836.
But the land where his present farm lies soon came into market, and, being more
desirable, he soon effected an exchange, and became the owner of one of the
finest farms in the vicinity. But it required many days of toil and arduous labor
to change it from a forest into the productive fields we now behold.

Their early pioneer days were not unlike those of all pioneers. Compelled to
live almost unprotected from the inclemency of the weather until a home could

be provided, in their case it was six weeks before the necessary materials for a
dwelling could be procured ; and the old house still stands, a relic of pioneer days.
Railroads and modern modes of travel were unknown to them. They can look
over the State and see the many improvements that have been made, and turn
back to the time when none of them existed. There was no market for grain
nearer than Detroit, where they drew their flour, and many times with ox-teams,
bringing in merchandise to supply the newly-established stores. The nearest mill
of any kind, for a time, was at Marshall. But the country was destined to be
brought under the influence of civilization, and soon the " ever-present Yankee,"
with his thrift and enterprise, was to be found on every hand. Mills and stores
were soon built in Battle Creek and Verona, and a home market was established
for all that the sturdy pioneer had to sell.

Mr. Hicks became a member of the Masonic fraternity in 1823, at Richmond,
Ontario county, New York, and has ever tried to exemplify its precepts in all his
dealings with mankind. His faith in the purity and honor of the order was un-
shaken by the bitter hatred engendered against it during what is called "Morgan
times." He became one of the charter members of Battle Creek lodge, No. 12,
F. and A. M., and we believe is the only one of the charter members now living.

Mr. and Mrs. Hicks have been blessed with unusual good health, and notwith-
standing the ills of life and some misfortunes which they have endured in the
way of bodily injuries, they have lived to more than fourscore years, and carry
their years remarkably well. Few men have sustained so many bodily injuries as
Mr. Hicks has, and still remain active and able to be about the farm. By the
breaking of a scaffold-board, some thirty years ago, he was thrown to the barn-floor
and his right hip and right elbow were badly crushed, so as to nearly stiffen his
arm and shorten his right limb some three-fourths of an inch. He has also had
several minor fractures and injuries, caused by some unaccountable accidents, the
worst of which was the loss of an eye, some twenty-five years ago. But, as the
close of his long and eventful life draws on, he is permitted to enjoy the fruits of
his industry by having a competence of this world's goods to provide for his every
want, and can feel that it has all been acquired by fair and honorable means.
None can say that any of his property is ill-gotten, or that he ever wronged them
of a farthing. His has been a blameless and useful life, and when he shall be
called upon to go hence, he will

" Leave behind him
Foot-prints on the sands of time."

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RESIDENCE * SURROUNDINGS OF Wl HICKS

SEU6.PZUNFIELO TR, CALHOUN C0,MICH.

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ELIZABETH HUTCHINSON.

HARRIET HUTCHINSON,

Residence of LOOMIS HUTCHINSON, £m

EMMETT TOWNSHIP.

This township belonged to the confederation of townships originally organized
under the name of Milton. At the session of the legislature in 1837-38, what
now constitutes Emmett was set off and organized into a separate township, and
called Cady. The name was suggested by Dr. Asahel Beach, after his son, who
was named in honor of General Cholett Cady, father of the doctor's wife. It
appears that the name was not generally satisfactory, as we find the subjoined
resolution passed at the first township meeting, namely: "Resolved, that the
honorable the legislature of this State be, and the same is hereby, requested to
change the name of this township from Cady to Andover." * On examination it
was found that there was a trio of townships in the State named Andover : so that
nothing was done as affecting the change until during the legislative session of
1839-40, when the name of Emmett was given it, in honor of Bobert Emmett,
the patriot and statesman.

The earliest settlements within the boundaries of the present township were
made in 1831, the precise date of the first entry of lands being June 7 of that
year. Jeremiah Gardner located on section 14 ; Estes Rich, on section 12 ; Henry
L. and Benjamin T. Dwinell, on section 23 ; Daniel Guernsey, on sections 6 and
7 ; John V. Henry, on section 13 ; all in 1831. Michael Spencer on section 14.
Of the above only two are living, namely, Henry L. Dwinell, now residing in
Battle Creek, and the venerable Estes Rich, in Kansas. Mr. Dwinell came from
Auburn, New York, from whence he started in April, 1831, taking the Erie
canal from Auburn to Buffalo, and from thence to Detroit by lake, and from
thence to their destination by teams. The party consisted of Henry L., Benjamin
T. (wife and child), John D., and Mary Ann, and their mother. Owing to the
fact that they stopped on the road to visit some friends, they did not arrive in
Emmett until August.

Mr. Rich moved to Bedford, and from there to Barry county, and finally in
1871 he moved to r Kansas, where he is now living, a hale and hearty pioneer.

During the early part of 1831 an Englishman, named John Bertram, came
into this section of country, and entered nineteen eighty-acre lots, and began a
mammoth experiment on the English mode of farming. He was possessed of
ample means but somewhat flighty ideas, and made a grand failure. Mr. Thomas
Knight, now a prominent resident of Emmett, but for more than forty years
living just over the line in Marshall, remembers Mr. Bertram well. He informs
us that Mr. Bertram never made any actual settlement or improvement on any
part of his vast possession except in Marshall township, where he erected, in the
summer of 1831, the first frame house in the county. He returned to England
after exhausting his means, and Mr. Knight, who came over as his hired man,
remains the possessor of a portion of his large property, which he has improved
and made a fine, well-cultivated farm.

In 1832 a location was made by one John Brown, but he never became a per-
manent settler.

In 1833 Asa and Moses Lowell came in and settled permanently in the town-
ship. The same year Stephen Warren came in and settled on section 14, entering
the southwest quarter of the section, upon a portion of which his son, Ira A.,
still resides. The deed for this land bears date December 2, 1833, and is signed
by Andrew Jackson. Of Mr. Warren's family, his widow, three sons, and a
daughter survive. Mrs. Warren resides with her daughter, Mrs. Henry L.
Dwinell, in Battle Creek ; B. W. lives at Charlotte, Eaton county, Michigan ;
Washington L., near Manistee, Michigan ; Ira A., on the old homestead ; and
Celista L., now the wife of Henry L. Dwinell, resides at Battle Creek.

Among those prominently identified with the early development of the township,
coming into it in the year 1834, were Dr. Asahel Beach, who settled on section
10, and became quite extensively known as the first physician in the township.
He practiced his profession for about ten years, when he devoted his attention to
farming, and subsequently removed to Battle Creek, where he now resides. Dex-
ter Dickinson also came in during this year, and settled on a part of the farm
now owned by his son John, on section 15. It was after him that the stream
running through his farm was named.

Luther Phelps came in this year. He was accompanied as far as Bellevue by
his brother Asa, who came into the township, and settled on section 8, the year
following. The latter's son, Silas, now resides on section 22. John Harper came
in this year, and settled on the farm now occupied by John Hough. Tolman W.

Hall, Esq.,* settled on section 7, in 1834, and erected the brick house now oc-
cupied by Daniel Caine, in 1853. Esquire Hall is the more intimately identified
with the history of Battle Creek, as the section on which he settled is a part of
the present city, where he is now a respected citizen.

In 1835 quite large accessions were made to the early settlements. Among
those coming in this year were Zebediah Stiles, his wife, and three sons, and a
daughter, who settled on section 8. Several members of his family are still resi-
dents of the township. Seth Byam also located on section 8 this year, and B.
Harper on section 12. Jonathan Johnson, brother to Kenyon Johnson, came in
during the year, and located on section 22.

In 1836 Jacob Spaulding, wife, three sons, and two • daughters, came in and
settled on section 29. His sons subsequently purchased farms themselves,
and settled on the same. John A. remained on the homestead, Albert N. settled
on the same section, near the homestead, and N. L. on the west line of the same
section. All join farms, and are within sight of the spot where they settled more
than forty years ago. The daughters are married : Rachel L. to Erastus Smith,
and now resides in northern Iowa ; Fannie C. married Francis Newbre, and resides
in Emmett, on section 32.

THE FIRST LOG HOUSE

was erected by Estes Rich, in 1831. It is now, after undergoing several addi-
tions and renovations, owned and occupied by Mrs. Mary J. Sayres, and is one of
the most venerable landmarks now remaining.

The first frame house was built by Roswell Crane, in 1836.

The first farm was opened by Benjamin T. and H. L. Dwinell, in the fall of
1831. He put in ten acres of wheat, which turned out exceedingly smutty.

THE FIRST ORCHARD

was set out by Michael Spencer, in the place now owned by L. J. Willard, on
section 14. It is still there, and bears its fruits in season, just as though it had
not stood there for nearly half a century.

THE FIRST BRIDGE

was erected across the Kalamazoo, at what is now White's station, by Henry L.
and Benjamin T. Dwinell and Robert M. Wheaton, in 1833. It was a primitive
affair, and was constructed of poles, at the expense of the above-named persons.

THE FIRST ROAD.

We find the following minutes of the first road in the township of Emmett, in
the early records of the township on file in the township clerk's office :

" Beginning at a stake standing in the centre of the road running westerly to
the bridge across Battle creek, near its conjunction with the Kalamazoo river on
section 7, in town 2 south, of range 7 west, 2 rods east of the section range line ;
thence running south parallel with the said section 7 towards south range 7 west,
2 rods from said line ; 50 chains and 50 links to the centre of the Territorial
road, running westerly through Goguac prairie.

" Ezra Convis, Surveyor.
" Asahel Lowell,
"Isaac Thomas,

" Commissioners of Highways.
"June 5, 1834."

THE FIRST MARRIAGE.

The first wedding celebrated in the township was that of Henry L. Dwinell
and Celista L. Warren, December 18, 1834. The ceremony was performed by
Benjamin F. Dwinell, Esq., brother to the bridegroom.

The first birth was that of Jane, daughter of John V. Henry, who was born
in the summer of 1832.

The first adult deaths were those of Emily D. Wheaton, wife of Robert M.
Wheaton, who died in the summer of 1834, and Stephen Warren, who died June
11, 1835. An infant son of Mr. Warren's died December 24, 1833.

THE FIRST SCHOOL.

Educational matters soon received the attention of the early settlers, for we

J See portrait and biography elsewhere in this work.

181

182

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

*

find that in 1833 a log school-house was erected in the Spencer neighborhood,
and that year Mrs. Cynthia Maynard, sister of Colonel Maynard, one of the
pioneers of Marengo township, taught it during the winter of 1833 and 1834.
Among the early scholars were the Gardners, Ira A., B. W., Washington L., and
Juliette P. Warren, Julia, Malvina, Emily, Harriet, Michael, Osborn, Gillett,
and Joseph V. Spencer, and Julia A. Dwinell. Miss Maynard subsequently
married a Mr. Anthony, and moved to Johnstown, this State, where she since
died. Miss Janette Byam, now the wife of George W. Angell, of Battle Creek,
taught school at an early day, in the old John V. Henry tavern stand. The
early records of the district schools were in some manner destroyed or lost, so that
we cannot give the facts concerning the organization of the school districts.

RELIGIOUS SERVICES.

The religious history of Emmett is so intimately identified with that of Battle
Creek that it will properly come under the head of religious matters in the his-
tory of the city. Religious meetings were held, however, in Emmett, prior to
the erection of the churches in the village of Battle Creek, notably by Rev. Mer-
rill, as early as 1834. The first meeting was attended by Estes Rich, John V.
Henry and wife, Ira A. Warren and wife, Benjamin F. Dwinell and wife, Michael
Spencer and wife, and others. No regularly organized church existed within the
present limits of the township, all the liberality of her citizens for the support
of religious institutions being concentrated in the churches of different denomina-
tions in Battle Creek, to which they, many of them, belonged respectively.

THE FIRST GRAVE-YARD

was laid out on land donated by Michael Spencer, on section 14, in the fall of
1835. The first interment was that of Stephen Warren, who died June 11,
1835, and was buried temporarily on his farm ; but his remains were taken up
during the year, and re-interred in the newly laid-out burying-ground, where they
still repose.

THE FIRST POST-OFFICE

was kept by Jeremiah Gardner, at his dwelling on section 14, in 1831. The
mail was first carried by a man named Kennedy, in a knapsack. The name of
the first post-office was Andover.

In 1834, a stage route was established, and Milton Barney use to drive the
stage between Marshall and Battle Creek. The route extended from Detroit to
Chicago.

THE FIRST MILL.
On the 31st of March, 1834, John Harper arrived in Emmett, and settled on
the farm now occupied by John Hough, a short distance east of White's Station.
The year following he built a log saw-mill, on section 31, on the water-power now
used by the " Newbre mill." He continued to operate the same until his death,
which occurred May 17, 1847, when it was inherited by his daughter, now Mrs.
Sophia Henderson, for whom John Hough ran it until 1851. In August of the
latter year William Newbre purchased the old fabric, and after despoiling it of
the machinery and anything else of value, he set fire to it, and in its place erected
the present structure. A few years since he sold the mill and water-power to his
brother, Guy C. Newbre, by whom it is at present owned and operated.

THE FIRST IMPROVED STOCK

was brought into the township by Dr. Asahel Beach, in the summer of 1835.
They were the best-bred Devonshires he could purchase in western New York,
and also two fillies, one from Ed. Long's celebrated stud, " Eclipse," and raised
at Cambridge, Washington county, New York, and one sired by "Old Hickory,"
whose dam was also full-blooded.

THE FIRST THRASHER

was one built by Squire Humphrey for Dr. Beach, in 1838, and several of the
same kind were introduced within a year or two. They were primitive in con-
struction, but fully adapted to the requirements of the farmers in their day.

The first reaper and mower was introduced by Charles Holden about 1846.
It was of eastern manufacture, and differed materially from the ingenious con-
trivances now used.

TOWNSHIP MEETING.

" At the opening of the first annual township meeting of the township of Cady,
at the dwelling-house of Jeremiah Gardner, on Monday the 2d day of April,
1838, Michael Spencer was chosen moderator, and Samuel Robinson clerk of said
meeting. Present, David H. Daniels, justice. The following resolutions were
then adopted :

"Resolved, That fence four and a half feet high, well made, of substantial
materials, shall be lawful fence.

" Resolved, That we raise fifty dollars for the relief of the poor.

" Resolved, That we raise in like manner the sum of fifty dollars for the sup-
port and repairing of bridges in said township.

" Resolved, That our supervisor be instructed to present to the township of
Milton a claim for our reasonable share of all money and property belonging to
the original township of Milton.

" Resolved, That the supervisors of Calhoun County be authorized to borrow
twenty-eight hundred and eighty-eight dollars to finish the court-house at
Marshall.

" Resolved, That the honorable the legislature of the State be and it is hereby
requested to change the name of this township from Cady to Andover.

" Resolved, That a copy of the preceding resolution be signed by the presiding
officers of this meeting and transmitted to the legislature aforesaid without delay.
"Resolved, That each and every overseer of highways shall be fence-viewer
and pound-master, and his own yard a pound.

" The following persons were then elected overseers of highways in their
respective districts :

"Michael Spencer, district No. 1 ; Asahel Beach, district No. 2; Anson In-
man, district No. 3 ; David N. Salter, district No. 4 ; Otis Williams, district No.
5 ; Samuel Robinson, district No. 6 ; George Bean, district No. 7 ; Samuel G.
Wallace, district No. 8 ; Augustus R. Mather, district No. 9 ; Truman Allen,
district No. 10 ; Arly N. Crawford, district No. 11 ; Daniel Wooden, district No.
12 ; William Newman, district No. 13 ; Alanson Cantine, district No 14.

" On canvassing the ballots, the following persons were found to have been duly
elected officers for the township of Cady for the ensuing year, to wit :

"Levi Morton, supervisor; Samuel Robinson, township clerk; Asa Lowell,
N. Salter, and Smith Berry, assessors ; Asa Lowell, David W. Howell, and Samuel
G. Wallace, justices of the peace; David W. Gibbs, collector; Michael Spencer
and Asahel Beach, directors of the poor ; Samuel G. Wallace, David Caulkins,
and Caleb D. Ferris, commissioners of highways ; David W. Howell, Fordyce
S. Rhoades, and Robert Adams, inspectors of schools ; David N. Gibbs, John
Lowry, George Morehouse, John De Groat, Kenyon Johnson,] John Rhoades,
constables.

" Resolved, That the next annual meeting be held at the house now kept by
Moses Lowell.

" Michael Spencer, Moderator,
" David H. Daniels, Justice,
" Samuel Robinson, Clerk.' 1
The succession of supervisors from 1839 to 1877 is included in the subjoined
list :

David W. Howell (three years), Asahel Beach (three years), Alanson Can-
tine, John Barbour (two years), William Carter, Moses Lowell (two years), Moses
Hall (two years), Ha Newbre, Howell Sandford (six years), V. P. Collier, Wm.
J. Hamilton (two years), George W. Bentley, Eden F. Henderson (three years),
George W. Moore (two years), Loomis Hutchinson (ten years), Silas Phelps,
(two years).

Those who have held the office of clerk during the period above designated
are: Samuel Robinson (two years), William G. Wheaton (two years), William
Carter (two years), Moses Lowell (two years), Erastus Fisher, Howard Sandford,
John R. De Shon (two years), Chauncey G. Teirs, Silas W. Dodge, Charles M..
Leon, Franklin S. Clark, Nelson Filleo, R. B. Merritt, Joseph Babcock (two
years), George W. Moore, Silas Phelps (thirteen years), George W. Moore (two
years), George W. Moore (two years).

The list of justices of the peace contains the names of the following persons :
William Carter, Felix Duffee, Jeremiah Gardner (four years), Alanson Can-
tine (three years), Sylvester W. Mills (one year), Asa Hutchinson, Henry War :
riner, David Waters, Lucien M. Weaver, Owen Marsh, David Hough, Lyman
G. Jenkins, Hershell Henderson, Thomas Weller, Jeremiah Thomas, Joseph
Jaynes, Samuel Sayres, Howell Sandford, John Markley, John Hough (four
years), Moses Hall (three years), Sylvester Smith (one year), John K. Loth-
ridge, Henry D. Hall, David Caulkins, F. M. Sanderson, Ha Newbre, S. W..
Dodge (two years), John K. Lothridge, Don Carlos Stoddard, Leman Van
Yalkenburgh (eight years), David Caulkins, David Barrett, Charles E. Greble,
John A. Spaulding (thirteen years), George M. Everts, Erastus B. Furguson,
David Barrett, H. Van Yalkenburg, Abram Percy, Oliver Champion, Lyndon K.
Phelps, Daniel Caine (nine years), Daniel Caine, George Barber, Andrew J.
Lapham.

VERONA.

The village of Verona was surveyed and laid out by General Ezra Convis, in
1836. It holds quite an important place in the history of this vicinity, as having
been for two or three years quite a rival of the then struggling village of Battle
Creek. It has even been asserted that, had General Convis lived, and brought
his interest as a member and speaker of the house of representatives to bear, the

Thomas Knight,

Mrs.Thqmas Knight.

Residence or THOMAS KNIGHT, Emmett Tr, Calhoun County, Michigan.

NIBTJM LEOHABD SPAULD

Perhaps c.» family has been closer identified with thp
son's name heads this sketch. He came into the townshii?^ 11 &nd def el °?
were boys, who grew into strong and muscular men just th 1Q tile somnier ot

Jacob Spaulding was born in Lisle, Broome county Cv rt,ia, * ct ' o ?•

uacou opauiumg was uorn in juisie, isroome county N«»v SUI J * cl » <Ti»

his elder brother, Lynos, he went to the Holland purchase T a^ March 3, l

>roving their farm, and shaking with the ague,—more sh l? J°* & tly loca teCl

There he remained until his marriage to Miss SamTrl 118 ®®& work,—

>any with Daniel Thurstin and George StickneyJ^e i^'^^n

town

in company o _ „„„„.„„

land situated on section 29. Mr. Stickney, notTdn^saS^* 68 * to ^ alh ° un
State, and, after arranging his business, started on the 1st nfw ith Michiga, 1 ?'
as Buffalo by team, then embarked on board the old steamer «2 ay ' 1836 j for f ,
twenty-three days on the journey. Here he resided until L f on , roe " * or D ,f
daughters —namely, John A., born March 28, 1817 • Bariu? J 64 ?, October 15,
Fanny C, February 2, 1829. ' neI L -> % 26, 1819 J

Kirum Leonard Spaulding, as will be seen by the above ^ 4 wn
k^»c ^i^^+v, „ri,i„v, ™„„™„^ ,„i, n « t .•_.!._*'_ ouuv e record, was born

children, all daughters, of whom three survive. The foTloS^ on his *Si"
4, 1872 ; Emma A. and Ellen E., born September 17, MW^iJ,
August 22, 1858, married Wesley Underwood, of Athens, fflirffl
observed that out of those who died Martha M. was the only one ft I* hpd e
ligence, it is appropriate that we here incorporate a few lines comm«! e «t^e <
than twenty-seven years of age, and her whole life had been S T tfed b
She possessed great firmness and decision of character, likewise an a 5t love >
the talents committed to her care. She strenuously applied heradft rndv
literature. But alas for human aspirations ! Having a delicate nh w!l orsa
any practical use of her intellectual acquirements. For five lon/w vears
sufferings ar.-d her shattered hopes with that fortitude which the TeaSS Chris
no common life, but one that, had it been spared, would have been f litful oi
beautiful resignation, and a lively hope in the felicity of the eternal life bey
friends, and missed by the community in which her young life had KJn spent
be possessed eighty acres ; but, by years of labor and frugality he haw added t<
well-improved and highly-cultivated land, interspersed, of course, with som
adhered to the principles of that party for many years. In religion he is liber
particular church. His esteemed wife and dutiful daughters are members oi
benevolent institutions, he is a liberal supporter.

As a citizen, Mr. Spaulding is too well known in this county to reouire an
pre-eminently a model, which to emulate would exalt many and humiliate no
no flattery to say that none enjoy more profusely, or deserve more honestly,
subject of our sketch. (See double-page illustration of prmim etc )

*f§,. *JEL

Residence or NIRUM l~ S^^DlJ

D SPAA- 5150 ' 0F EMMETT -

awn. atopnient of Emmett township than that of Jacob Spaulding, whose

w mi andfl^Jjf !g36 accompanied by a family of five children, of whom three
sort- 8uB !f trbose strength and influence are so beneficial to a new country.
YnV U fa !ii\l790> wnere ne resided until ne attained his majority; then, with
id f • "^^Sed one hundred and sixty acres of land. After spending one year
ini^v tly a— he sold out his interest to his brother, and returned to his native
ha Aii W 3 w« consummated February 2, 1815. On the 1st of May, 1835, he,
wo i ' *i£iffl Cotmty» Michigan, and. located one hundred and sixty acres of
I wiS. * °S*b proceeded to Illinois, and Mr. Spaulding returned to New York
Mav i* S'e home he had selected in Emmett township. They came as far
Mon W Detroit, and from thence drove through to Oalhoun County, occupying
lAatu ^' L*15 1840. His family consisted of five children,— three sons and two
CSa Si Albett N '' Se * )tember 30 > 182 °; N irum I'm August 23,1824;

record bom August 23, 1824, in Lisle, Broome county, New York. After his
h a » ' i"? Afl farm on shares four years. In the mean time he purchased eighty
ter of t-t&. On the 10th of October, 1844, he married Lucy E., daughter of
tied « 8 t C !*nfann, and commenced life for himself. They had a family of six
e oftn?*-**- fli0 fonfty record :— Martha M., born October 1, 1845, died December
& uastittt^ ber go, 1853, and Emma A., November 29, 1856; Ida A., born
8' 187?? VelHe X born October 10, 1862 ; Eva L., born August 8, 1868. It will be
»ae that' acted maturity. As she was a young lady of more than ordinary intel-
conim ratiw °* ner £ enera * worth. When called hence she was a little more
a char^^Led by a sweetness of disposition, purity of living, and earnest piety.
*e an arintW of and desire for study, and consequently labored hard to develop
herself *! rtadyi f° r tlie P ur P 08e of doing good in the cause of education and
*ate nhvaicalorgafl ization > ner h°P e * were blasted ere she had been able to make
long w,7rT years prior to her death she was a confirmed invalid. She bore her
the ear rS Christian only can command ; and it can be truly said that hers was
^ been fmitfal of mucl * good ' Neither was heT death a common one, for with a
1 eternal life beyond the grave, she passed away, mourned by her relatives and
? e had been «» nt - But to return to Mr - Spaulding. When settling on his farm
y, he has added to it, until he now owns three hundred and seventy-five acres of
course with so* 116 & ood timDer - * n politics he is strongly [Republican, having
eligion hei»Hl ,erai ' but ' wnile Relieving in Christianity, he has never joined any
3 are member of tne ^P* 18 * church, of which, together with most religious and

mty to reqoiW&By comment from us. As a husband, father, and friend he stands
and hun^ftfe fione - *** 8 ^ e has been a bu8y and use f ul one ; and we believe it
© more boaeitly. the estimation and confidence of the community than does the
es, etc.)

ck)sttesy(p C^^^^(yf^ol^^

1

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

183

terminus of the railroad would have been there instead of at Battle Creek, and
it would have stood to-day a city, instead of a mere hamlet.

Let us contrast the busy scene going on there in 1838, under his supervising,
with the one transpiring contemporaneously a mile and a half down the stream.
They had then at Battle Creek a saw-mill, grist-mill, blacksmith-shop, tavern,
and two stores, with two doctors, a lawyer, and a few representatives of the me-
chanical arts. A Yerona, Deacon David N. Salter was running General Convis'
saw-mill, Colonel Stewart had built a grist-mill, William Stewart was hammering
iron at his forge ; William Mills and Ashley worked at tailoring, and the me-
chanics at their trades ; David Caldwell kept the tavern, and his brother John
had a cabinet-shop ; David H. Daniels, Sylvester Mills, and Jeremiah Teed were
selling dry-goods ; Brown and Brigham were doing the same ; Dr. Rhodes was
attending the sick, and Felix Duffee and Gillespie did the pettifogging. The
above-named persons with their families, and a number of other families, consti-
tuted the inhabitants of Yerona. Battle Creek had the most houses, and may
have had the lion's share of the trade, but the little village to the north of it was
giving it a close rivalry. But this only lasted a little while, for the master-spirit
was called hence in the spring of 1838. He died at Detroit, and it seems as
though the enterprise and activity of Yerona expired with him.

THE GRIST-MILL

was erected in 1838, by John Stuart and John Yan Arman, now the great crimi-
nal lawyer of Chicago. The frame of the original building still remains, although
very extensive repairs and improvements have been added as the necessities of
increasing business demanded. The mill at first had but two run of stone, but
a third one was added under the present ownership. It has two improved iron
turbine-wheels and one old-style wheel of the same material. We trace the pro-
prietorship from John Yan Arman to Elijah Fish, to whom the former sold his
half-interest November 7, 1843 ; John Stewart sold his interest to William Mer-
ritt and Elijah Fish, June 1, 1849 ; Sarah Fish and others, the administrators of
the Elijah Fish estate, sold their interest to William Merritt, May 27, 1864 ;
from which time the latter has been the sole proprietor. The mill is a substantial
frame structure, and is surpassed in capacity and its general appointments by few
in the county. The amount of work done by it during the year 1876 was, mer-
chant, eight thousand barrels ; custom of all kinds, twenty-five thousand bushels.

THE FIRST HOUSE

erected in the place was in 1837, by John Stewart ; and in 1842 he built a frame
hotel, which, after standing several years, was destroyed by fire.

A bridge was built across Battle creek in 1838, which, after a service of about
twenty years, was partially destroyed by the floods of 1857, and that, in turn,
was superseded by the present substantial structure.

The place now contains a grist-mill, saw-mill, a commodious district school-
house, a store, a cooper's shop, a wagon-shop, and a blacksmithy. It has a popu-
lation of about one hundred and fifty.

UNION GRANGE, NO. 292,

was organized in March, 1874. The first officers and charter members were —
Master, Reuben B. Parks; Overseer, Henry Anderson; Lecturer, Albert Little;
Steward, A.M. Sharpsteen ; Assistant Steward, Melvin M. Lee ; Chaplain, Joseph
A. Main ; Treasurer, John B. Palmerton ; Secretary, Henry E. Whitbeck ; Gate-
keeper, William Anderson ; Ceres, Miss Minnie Johnson ; Pomona, Miss Blanche
Anderson ; Flora, Miss Mary Lusk ; Lady Assistant Steward, Mrs. A. M. Sharp-
steen ; T. N. Hoffman and wife, Mrs. Mary Little, Misses Sarah and Eva Little, Anna
Sharpsteen, Perly Andrus, Hetty Andrus, Samuel Wells and wife, Mrs. Henry
Anderson, Mark Weeks and wife, Edward Weeks, Jacob Lusk and wife, Mrs. Cecelia
Parks, Albert Johnson, Theresa Johnson, Miss Hettie Hoffman, Wallace Hayward
and wife, Mary J. Richardson, C. Anderson, Mrs. M. Lee, John Merchant and
wife, Herbert Merchant, Charles Godfrey and wife, Arthur and Alice Godfrey, J.
M. Parks, Mrs. Laura Parks, John Woodworth and wife, James Mayo and wife,
Arad Chidister and wife, Peter Bodine, H. A. Walker and wife, Frank Hughes,
Charles Atmore and wife, Harriet Bodine, Charles Marble and wife, Francis Robin-
son, Stephen Traverse, William Marvin, Alice Robinson, Joseph Crouch, Maria
Wickham, William Katner and wife, Mrs. J. Main, Joseph P. Beach, Susan
Beach, Emulus Sprague, Charles Sprague, Dexter Dickinson and wife, Allie Dick-
inson, Eugene Blakley, Irving Sharpsteen and wife, Mrs. H. E. Whitlock, James
Haddock, L. Kellogg and wife, T. C. Stebbins and wife, David Mains, Ada L.
Palmerton, Alexander Gordon and wife, James Gordon, George Gordon, Ada
Hoffman, and Mrs. J. B. Palmerton ; in all ninety-five charter members.

The present officers are — Master, John Woodworth ; Overseer, A. M. Sharp-
steen ; Lecturer, Whiting Hutchinson ; Steward, Cassius M. Richardson ; Assist-
ant Steward, George Hart ; Chaplain, Mrs. Emily Lee ; Treasurer, W. B. Katner;
Secretary, Mrs. Whitney Hutchinson ; Gate-keeper, Samuel Wells ; Ceres, Ada
L. Palmerton ; Pomona, Mrs. Sarah Woodworth ; Flora, Mrs. Irena Wells ; Lady
Assistant Steward, Mrs. Mary Richardson.

The present membership is sixty. The society owns a comfortable hall, in which
its meetings are held.

Note. — We are indebted to the following gentlemen for information touching
the history of Emmett township and for other favors : Messrs. Ira A. Warren,
Thomas Knight, Loomis Hutchinson, N. Leonard Spaulding, William Newbre, of
Emmett, Henry L. Dwinell and Dr. Asahel Beach, of Battle Creek, and Mrs.
Whiting Hutchinson, of Emmett.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

WILLIAM NEWBRE.

Among the representative self-made men of Emmett township none stand forth
more conspicuously than does William Newbre. Although not coming into the
township for nearly a decade after its first settlement, yet, by great industry,
coupled with sound practical economy and excellent judgment, he has rightfully
assumed a place with the largest farmers and most substantial business men of
Emmett. As exhibiting an example worthy the emulation of all, particularly the
young, we herewith present a brief sketch of Mr. Newbre's life and character, feel-
ing as though the history of Emmett township would be incomplete without a
notice of that gentleman.

William Newbre was born at Byron, Genesee county, New York, August 13,
1817. He continued to reside under the paternal roof until he was twenty-two
years of age, when he removed to Stafford, and commenced work for one Hiram
Wright, with whom he stayed two summers, at six dollars per month. From
Stafford he moved to Elba, Seneca county, where he remained for the ensuing
six years. From the latter place he emigrated to Sandstone, Jackson county,
Michigan, where he purchased his first forty acres of land of one Daniel Rhinies,
which he partially improved, and then exchanged for three hundred and twenty
acres of wild land in Emmett township, Calhoun County, formerly owned by
David Johnson, of Jackson.

In 1842 he took one hundred acres of land of Townsend E. Gidley, upon
which he sowed wheat. He disposed of his crop, and then moved into an unfin-
ished log house which stood upon his farm. He completed the house, and then
sowed seventy-five acres of wheat. The succeeding year he broke up eighty acres,
and sowed to wheat, and sold the same, and paid an installment on his land,
which he continued to do each year until he got it all paid for. It was hard
work, but he was bound to succeed, regardless of the sacrifice of many comforts.
On the 25th of December, 1840, he married Miss Amelia Cranson, of Sand-
stone, Jackson county, Michigan, by whom he had three children. Two survive,
namely, Miranda, born October 2, 1842 ; married Oliver W. Godfrey, and resides'
in Emmett township. Mary I., born November 22, 1850, and married A. Douglass,
and resides in Schoolcraft, Michigan.

In 1851 he built a saw-mill two miles west of where he now resides, which is
Still known as the « Newbre saw-mill." In 1866 he erected his present commo-
dious residence, a fine illustration of which can be seen elsewhere in this work.
Here he and his admirable wife are surrounded by every comfort that heart
can wish, enjoying in their advancing years every blessing of the farmer's con-
tented and happy life, and, having lived moderately, they have always enjoyed
excellent health, and, with the will of Providence, may enjoy many pleasant years
of earthly happiness.

In politics, Mr. Newbre is Republican. In religious sentiment he is liberal,
and while never affiliating with any sectarian denomination, yet he believes in the
broad principles of general Christianity, and is always found among the most
liberal supporters of religious and educational institutions. He is a good practical
farmer, and cultivates his four hundred and seventy-five acres of land with great
care and prudence. In character, he is a man whom to know is to respect. Hon-
orable and upright in all his dealings, just in all his business transactions, kind
and affectionate in his domestic relations, charitable in his life, does he not con-
stitute a noble example of the really good and true, and one which to follow is
wisdom? Truly, there can be but one wish expressed by the good citizen, and
that is, " Would there were many like him !"

JAMES NEWBRE

was born in Byron, Genesee county, New York, May 3, 1820. At an early age
he removed to Stafford, and after remaining there six years went to Elba, where
he also lived for six years. In 1837 he emigrated to Michigan, and settled in
Sandstone, Jackson county. Here he remained until 1844, when himself and
his father's family removed to Emmett, where he continued to reside till his
death, which occurred on the 6th of March, 1864.
184

On the 21st of May, 1846, he married Julia A., daughter of David Calkins,
an old pioneer of Emmett township. They had two children, namely, Orson C.'
born July 26, 1847, and married Adelaide, daughter of John A. Spaulding, of
Emmett; and Ila D., born January 27, 1859, and is single.

Mr. Newbre was quite an active business man in his time, having been for
some years agent for Hall's thrashing-machine, and ran the first Nichols &
Shepard thrasher ever built. He held the office of town treasurer for two years,
and filled it with great acceptability. By strict attention to his business he
made his own way in the world. When he first came into the township he had
nothing, and in 1847 we find that he purchased his first eighty acres of land from
A. Rotherick, agreeing to pay for the same nine hundred and fifty dollars and
going in debt for the full amount. This he paid, and subsequently purchased
the old Calkins place of his father-in-law. At his death he was quite comfort-
ably circumstanced, which he owed to his own prudence and industry.

Julia A. Newbre, wife of the above-named gentleman, was born August 4 1822
in Wheatland, Monroe county, New York. In 1836 she accompanied her parents'
to Emmett township, where she met and subsequently married Mr. Newbre as
above stated. A view of the homestead, with portraits of the worthy couple can
be seen elsewhere in our work, inserted there by 0. C. Newbre, their dutiful
elder son, as a token of affectionate regard. Mr. tfewbre lived a useful and hon-
orable life, and was held in high esteem by his neighbors and friends; and his
respected widow is likewise greatly beloved by all who know her.

LOOMIS HUTCHINSON.

In the first rank of thrifty, prosperous, successful farmers of Calhoun County
noted for its wealthy yeomanry, stands Loomis Hutchinson, of Emmett township'
He was born in Smyrna, Chenango county, New York, April 21, 1818 His
father was Noah Hutchinson, a native of Massachusetts, and a branch of the
Hutchmsons of Puritan fame, Governor Hutchinson being an ancestor His
mother, Rhoda (Shepherd) Hutchinson was a native of Hartford, Connecticut
Loomis Hutchinson is the only survivor of four children, all sons, of whom he
was the oldest. His father was a pioneer of Smyrna, and cleared up a large and
heavily-timbered farm. Loomis was educated at the common schools of the
country, attending them in the winter, and working on his father's farm in the
summer seasons, until he was twenty-one years of age, when he began to teach
school during the winter, and continued to work for his father as before, who had
removed m the mean time to Lima, Livingston county, in the same State. In

1844, Loomis came to Michigan, being then unmarried, with four hundred dol-
lars in gold he had saved from his earnings, and purchased a portion-one hundred
acres-of his present farm, on sections 27 and 34, in Emmett township, laying out
his entire savings therefor. By teaching school during the winter of 1844-45
he obtained sufficient means to buy a yoke of oxen, with which, in the spring of

1845, he began to clear up his land, which was heavy oak openings. A cabin of
logs seven by nine feet, had been built on his land by the previous owner of the same,
which provided him a shelter until he could build something better. He has now two
hundred and eighty acres in his present homestead, and has given his son Whiting
a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, on which he now resides, in Emmett,
and upon which the father is now erecting a dwelling for the son at a cost of two
thousand five hundred dollars. Mr. Hutchinson paid for his first purchase four
dollars per acre and for his last one, in 1858, fifty dollars per acre, and values his
farm at a much higher price than both sums together. Mr. Hutchinson was
married in Emmett, October 20, 1847, to Elizabeth, a daughter of David and
Rebecca Foster Hough, natives of New Hampshire. She was born July 14,
1825. The children of this marriage were as follows : Whiting H., of Emmett, as
before stated ; Julius, now at home with his father; Frank and James Loomis, both
now deceased. Mrs. Hutchinson died May 20, 1856, and on January 19, 1857,
Mr. Hutchinson brought to his desolate home Harriet, a sister of his deceased
companion, as his wife, who was born April 16, 1822. By her he has had three
children born to him,-0harles, now at the university at Ann Arbor, and Mark
and Harry, both of whom are deceased. Politically, Mr. Hutchinson's views are

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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

185

those of the Republican party, and were formerly in accord with the policy of the
old Whig organization. He was supervisor of Emmett for ten years, from 1864
to 1874 inclusive, and served his county one term in the State legislature in
1869-70. He is at present the president of the Calhoun County Farmers' In-
surance Company. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson are liberal in their religious views.
From the beginning of the boy to the successful achievements of the man, now
almost threescore years of age, Mr. Hutchinson's way has been marked with
steady industry and strict integrity. His success is an incentive for those who
follow in his footsteps to " go and do likewise," that when they shall, like him,
approach the time of the " sere and yellow leaf," they, too, may look back upon
lives as worthily spent and as justly to be commended. We refer our readers to
the double-page view of the elegant dwelling and capacious barns and pleasant
grounds of Mr. Hutchinson on another page of our work, accompanied with the
portraits of himself and his worthy companion.

IRA A. WARREN.

Ira A., son of Stephen and Samantha Warren, old and respected pioneers of
Emmett township, was born at Clarendon, Orleans county, New York, September
13, 1819. He commenced life on his father's farm, and there acquired the habits
of industry and economical self-reliance that have tended so materially to his subse-
quent prosperity. On the assumption that the teachings of early youth form the
basis of after-life, his parents were careful to instill into his mind practical knowl-
edge, in the absence of intellectual, which in the days of his youth was difficult
of acquisition. However, he found time, principally during the winter months,
to attend the school in his native village, and afterwards the public schools of his
new home.

In May, 1833, he accompanied his parents to Michigan, settling in Emmett
township, where he has ever since resided. In 1835, when still comparatively
strangers in a strange land, the family sustained the loss of the husband and
father, and of necessity a part of the duty of maintaining the widowed mother
and orphaned children devolved upon him. He accepted the duty cheerfully,
and fulfilled it faithfully. His excellent mother still survives, having lived to see
her family assume positions of honor in the communities in which they reside
respectively. The filial love of her children has been a source of great joy to her,
and she bears serenely the advances of time, passing smoothly over the temporal
stream to the eternal shore, her life made happy, and her old age comfortable.

On the 7th of May, 1844, Mr. Warren married Miss Susan J., daughter of
Robert Henderson, M.D., a well-known physician of Washtenaw county, Michi-
gan, and father of Judge Henderson, of Marshall. They had but one child,
Adeline B., born September 9, 1845 ; married Orson Avery, May 5, 1867, and
has one son, Elmer W., born February 14, 1868. Although affiliated with the
Republican party for many years, he never desired or sought office, being content
to cast his ballot for the best interests of the country, and for those of his party.
In religion, himself and wife are Baptists, having belonged to that denomination
for more than a quarter of a cenCury. He has always led a temperate life, and
now, at the age of nearly threescore years, he enjoys health unimpaired, a robust
24

constitution, and an easy conscience ; looking cheerfully back on the past, and
forward to the future, with a well-grounded hope of an eternal reward. {See
illustration and portraits.)

THOMAS KNIGHT.

This gentleman is, in point of settlement, one of the oldest pioneers in Calhoun
County, and antedates any other living inhabitant of his township more than a
year. He was contemporary with John Bartram, Michael Spencer, Jeremiah Gard-
ner, Estes Rich, and other old and respected citizens of Emmett and Marshall, in
the latter of which townships he located and resided for over forty years. He
lived within sight of his present residence and was identified more or less with
the growth and development of both townships ; for he saw them both rise from
desolate forests and uncultivated plains, uninhabited save by the aborigine, into
populous and prosperous settlements, supplied with every blessing of civilization,
and crowned with every bouuty of Providence. And having been an eye-witness
of all this, and having contributed his full share of toil and hardship towards its
consummation, does he not form a part of the history of the township, and so
deserve more than a passing notice ?

Thomas Knight was born at Hessle, on the banks of the Humber, five miles
west of Hull, Yorkshire, England, December 21, 1805. He spent the first
twenty-five years of his life in his native town, attending school for a brief
period, but commencing at an early age to practically fulfill the scriptural injunc-
tion, "Thoushalt earn thy bread by the sweat of thy brow."

On the 13th of April, 1830, he left Hull docks, and after a voyage of fifty-
six days landed in Quebec ; and on the 25th of June, the same year, arrived in
Detroit, where he remained until February 15, 1832, when he took up his resi-
dence on sections 18 and 19, in the township of Marshall. Here he remained
until November, 1872, at which time he moved to his present dwelling in Em-
mett, leaving his son in the old homestead.

On the 8th of June, 1831, he married Miss Ann Wass, who was born at Clee-
thorps, near Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England, October 15, 1805, and still survives,
and is a very active lady. They raised a family of ten children, all of whom were
born on the old homestead, in Marshall township. Their names and the dates of
their respective births are as follows :

Charles T., born January 26, 1833 ; Thomas J., born October 31, 1834 ; Eliza
J., born February 27, 1836 ; William W., born December 6, 1837 ; Godfrey H.,
born August 20, 1839 ; George W., born July 5, 1841 ; John H., born March
18, 1843; Jesse G.,born February 13, 1845; Sarah A., born September 8, 1847;
Frank A., born October 18, 1850.

Mr. Knight has served his township in various offices, having been assessor one
year and highway commissioner twelve years. He is Republican in politics, and
in religious sentiments a free-thinker. He commenced life with less than ten dol-
lars, and to-day is classed among the most substantial men of his township. He
owns five hundred acres of land in Marshall and Emmett townships, all of which
he secured by fair and honorable purchase. As a man and neighbor he is de-
servedly very highly respected.

CLARENDON TOWNSHIP.

Clarendon township is known on the government surveys as town 4 south,
and range 5 west, and was originally organized as a part of the township of
Homer. In 1838 it was organized as a separate township under the name of
Clarendon. The name was probably given to it owing to the fact that many of
its settlers were from the town of Clarendon, Orleans county, New York.

Clarendon is strictly an agricultural township, and contains many excellent
farms, all well improved. Southern Michigan is well known as a fine fruit region,
and the quality of the pomological products of Clarendon is equal to that of the
fruit raised in any part of the county. Thrifty orchards are seen on every im-
proved farm, their rapid growth having given them the size of older trees in re-
gions where the soil is not equally as good.

The township contains a large body of heavy timber, and was originally covered
with a thick forest, except on the plain in the northeast part known as Cook's
prairie, and a few other localities. The timber is of the various kinds peculiar
to southern Michigan. Originally the sugar-maple was abundant, and the early
settlers manufactured large quantities of the delicious sugar and syrup. For
several years after their settlement some families used no sugar except that which
was the product of this noble tree. The experience of some of the younger
members of the community was similar to that of persons in the days of the
early settlements in southern Ohio and Pennsylvania, inasmuch as they had be-
come so used to the maple that any other sugar was a great novelty to them.
There are localities where tea and coffee were never used, and the experience of
the novice with his first cup of either of these beverages was extremely ludicrous.
Doddridge, in his " Notes on the Early Settlements," etc., in western Virginia and
Pennsylvania, speaks of the first time he ever tasted coffee, and mentions the fact
that it was terribly nauseating to him, and it was with difficulty he could drink it.
It is to be supposed that the early settlers of Clarendon did not go without their
rations of tea and coffee, even though they were obliged to make a long trip to
Detroit to get them. Possibly, however, some of them may not at first have been
in circumstances to indulge in such luxuries, and went without for a time. The
hardships of the pioneers of the country can only be fully appreciated by them-
selves, after forty years' life in the country they chose to make their home, and in
which they have nearly all prospered to a remarkable degree. The many excellent
improvements we see have sprung up in a comparatively short space of time, and
will put to the blush regions which have been settled half a century longer. But
the industry and enterprise is largely in the west, and people live longer and
through more varied experiences than the staid and quiet inhabitants of older
regions, who have but little thought for the future except to enjoy themselves in
a good, old-fashioned way.

Clarendon township is well watered, being supplied by the St. Joseph river and
numerous small branches. Homer lake lies partly within its limits, and dis-
charges its waters through a short outlet into the St. Joseph. By far the greater
portion of the land is susceptible of cultivation, there being but a small area of
wet or swampy region. A few tamarack swamps are found, but of no great ex-
tent. The river here is comparatively small, but quite rapid, and in places out
of the township is utilized for water-power. Its banks are generally low, and the
lands along it rich and productive.

The air-line division of the Michigan Central railway was opened for travel in
the fall of 1870, and a station established two miles north of Clarendon Centre.
Thus a means of transportation for stock, grain, and other products is afforded
the inhabitants, who are, by means of the railway, brought into direct and quick
communication with the great markets both east and west. The township sub-
scribed ten thousand dollars' aid to the railway in 1869, the vote on the question
standing one hundred and ten for the subscription and ninety-six against it.
This was at a second meeting held for the purpose, the project having been
defeated at the first one. Since the road has been completed, and the iron horse
thunders over the rails with loads of precious freight behind him, the people are
not sorry they made the investment.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

The settlement of Clarendon dates back nearly half a century, to the time when
the red man occupied the country ; when the fierce wolf, the prowling bear, and
other wild animals abounded in large numbers, and before the " beautiful penin-
186

sula" forming southern Michigan, with its sister peninsula on the north, became
a State. The never-ceasing march of time has witnessed the removal of most of
the members of the red race to make room for the influx of the white ; the wild
beasts have disappeared to more remote regions ; the timid deer has fled affrighted
from the encroachments of the whites upon his pasture-grounds, and the wilder-
ness made to " blossom as a rose." Where erst the forest stood in its grandeur,
or the prairie bore its annual wealth of flowers and perfume, the axe and the plow
have created wondrous changes ; and we now see the fields rich with the product
of man's labor, the fine dwellings and convenient and commodious barns, and
every improvement incident to a country settled by a thrifty, energetic, industrious
class of people. Truly theirs has been a fitting labor, and its results are certainly
satisfactory to the pioneers who expended time, labor, and patience to bring them
about. The township of Clarendon to-day, with its many cosy residences, broad
highways, fields teeming with the manifold products of the soil, thrifty orchards,
and ever-recurring evidences of prosperity, bears a striking contrast to the same
territory as it appeared to the pioneer of forty-five years ago, and with the excep-
tion that the contour of the surface remains the same the change in its aspect has
been almost a complete revolution.

The first settler who located in the township was Anthony Doolittle, who came
in May, 1832, in company with Deacon Henry Cook. The latter located in what
is now Eckford township. These two men purchased four hundred and eighty
acres of land at an advance of fifty per cent, from government price, paying one
dollar eighty-seven and a half cents per acre. The land had been entered the
previous winter by Dr. Hays, of Marshall. Mr. Doolittle located on section 1,
on " Cook's prairie," as it was afterwards called, a name it has ever since re-
tained. Mr. Doolittle has been dead a number of years, and none of his family
are now living in the neighborhood. He came with Mr. Cook from Washtenaw
county, where they had stopped the previous winter. Mr. Cook was from Cayuga
county, New York, and Mr. Doolittle was also from that State.

The farm now owned by Hon. William Cook was originally located by John
Kennedy, an unmarried man, who came about the same time Cook and Doolittle
arrived. Mr. Cook has lived upon it since 1840. He came to the county with
his father, Henry Cook, in 1832. He has been a prominent man among the
citizens of the township and county. Was for many consecutive years supervisor
of the township, and at present represents Calhoun County in the State senate.
The farm is one of the best in the vicinity, and is finely improved, rich, and pro-
ductive, as indeed are all those on Cook's prairie.

The next person who ventured to locate on the then frontier, and build for
himself a home in the wilderness, was David L. Hutchison, who came from the
town of Sullivan, Madison county, New York, in the month of October, 1832.
He left the region of the historic Oneida lake and pushed boldly into a country but
thinly populated, and only a short time known to eastern people as a place where
white beans might possibly grow. There is no doubt but that the weary immi-
grants had their sight gladdened by the beauty of the country they came into,
and whatever fears they may have possessed as to the poor quality of the soil were
quickly dispelled on arriving at their destination. Mr. Hutchison was a young
man when he came. He at first located one hundred and seven acres of govern-
ment land, partly on section 35, in what is now Eckford township, and partly on
section 2, in Clarendon. The land was located near the site of the Free-Will
Baptist church, which stands on the southwest corner of section 36, in Eckford
township. The land he located first he kept until the 7th of June, 1833, when
he sold it to Isaac Hopkins, who immediately settled upon it. Mr. Hutchison
then purchased the southwest quarter of section 10, Clarendon township, upon
which he built a log house and made other necessary improvements. In this
house Mr. H. ''kept bach." for a little more than four years, and occasionally
some pioneer family would move in with him and stay until a house for their own
use could be erected. In April, 1838, Mr. Hutchison was married to Huldah
Maria Bennett, this being one of the first, marriages in the township. Miss
Bennett's parents lived in Kalamazoo county, whither they had emigrated from
Wayne county, New York. Mr. Hutchison is still living on his farm, on section
10, and his broken health and shattered system bear witness to the labor he per-
formed in making his home comfortable. By his own exertions he cleared over
a hundred acres of heavy timber. When he first came he engaged extensively

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HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

187

in hunting up land for settlers. He was also fond of the chase, and numerous
deer have fallen before his rifle, and, in his own language, he was " death on wild
turkeys," which abounded in immense numbers. A few of them are yet left, but
are exceedingly shy, and it is a rare occurrence to procure a shot at one. He
speaks of seeing thirteen deer in one day.

Bears were very plenty, and many are the exciting stories told by old settlers
of encounters with those shaggy beasts. Samuel Bently, now living at Clarendon
Centre, was a great hunter, and though now advanced in years ean handle a trusty
rifle almost as well as ever. He had a shoe-shop in South Albion in an early
day, and on one occasion while at work was roused by a terrific noise from a pack
of dogs. Taking down his ever-ready rifle, and stepping to the door, he could
see across the fields a huge black bear in rapid retreat, followed by a pack of
hounds in full cry. Behind the dogs came a number of men bent on Bruin's
destruction. Mr. Bently walked to a certain point which the bear must pass,
and, as he came up, gave him a bullet back of the shoulder, which dropped him.
Bently stepped up to the bear to cut its throat, and about the time he reached it
it arose to its feet, — and then there was a sudden change in the programme, and
Bently ran for dear life, as he had not loaded his gun after firing. Finally his
bearship was treed by the dogs, and a couple of shots through his head from
Bently's rifle ended his earthly career, and he fell to the ground dead. He was
very large and fat, and Mr. Bently was justly proud of his exploit.

Anthony Rogers came from Washington county, New York, and in the fall of
1832 purchased two eighty-acre lots on section 2, on one of which his son, Alonzo
H. Rogers, is now living. Old Mr. Rogers lived a number of years on his farm,
and died at the age of seventy-three or seventy-four. Alonzo H. Rogers, origin-
ally from Washington county, came out in 1833, the year after his father located.
Mr. R. had a wife and one child, and brought them with him to the farm on
which he now lives. They arrived on the 6th day of May, 1833. A. H. R.'s
second child, Albert N. Rogers, was born November 9, 1838, and a daughter,
Mary Louisa Rogers, January 4, 1843. The only child now living is Albert N.
Rogers, who occupies the old homestead with his father. This farm is also on
the beautiful u Cook's prairie," and lies next west of the one owned by William
Cook (the old John Kennedy farm). Mr. Rogers is one of the few old settlers
now living in the township, and has reached an advanced age to find himself com-
fortably and pleasantly situated, with the fruits of his handiwork thriving about
him.

Loren Keep and Erastus B. Enos came out in 1832, arriving in Clarendon
July 15, 1832. Mr. Keep was from Homer, Cortland county, New York, and
Mr. Enos from Spafford, Onondaga county. Mr. Keep located the west half of
the northwest quarter of section 18, and two " forties" on the southeast quarter of
section 7. Mr. Enos located the east half of the northeast quarter of section 18,
and the west half of the northwest quarter of 17. After locating their land they
went home, and on the 8th of June, 1833, came back to their claims, and erected
small shanties. Mr. Enos built a log house on his place the same year, and Mr.
Keep built one the next year (1834). In May, 1833, Mr. Keep was married to
a lady who came on the same boat with him from Buffalo, and who stopped in
Washtenaw county, in the " Bend of the Raisin." He left her there, came and
made his improvements, and went back after her subsequently. Mr. Enos sold
out in 1853 and removed to Washtenaw county, where he afterwards died. In
1853, Mr. Keep built the frame house in which he is now living. Mr. Keep's
wife and children are buried in the cemetery just east of his residence. When
the log house was built on Mr. Enos 7 place (1833) a large stone chimney was
erected at one end, and this was the means of dangerously injuring Mr. Enos'
sister, Polly Enos, a maiden lady, who, while engaged in some household duty,
was suddenly buried beneath the ruins of the chimney, which fell without an in-
stant's warning. Miss Enos was finally extricated from her dangerous position,
badly injured, and with several bones broken. It was almost miraculous that she
escaped being crushed to death. Her broken bones were carefully reset, and, after
a lono- and painful sickness, she recovered. This accident reminded the settlers
that the country in which they had located was by no means exempt from trouble,
*and it was some time before they recovered from their fright and excitement.

Early in the spring of 1833, Oliver Lynch located on Cook's prairie and built
a shanty ; and either this year or the next, John Keith also settled in the town-
ship, somewhere near the site of the old saw-mill now standing on the farm of
Aaron B. Bartlett.

John Blake was born in the State of Maine, and from there went to New York.
In the fall of the year 1833 he came from Clarkson, Monroe county, New York,
where he was then living, and located four miles east of the then village of
Marshall, in Marengo township. He stayed in Marengo one year, and then came
to the farm on which he now resides, in Clarendon, on section 10. His brother-
in-law, William R. Howe, came with him, and the two located one hundred and
twenty acres of government land, and afterwards purchased more. Of the early

settlers of Clarendon, Mr. Blake is the oldest now living in the township, being
eighty-five years of age. He was out with the militia about two weeks during
the war of 1812, and participated in the battle of Black Rock. He is the father
of eleven children, of whom four are now living, — two sons and two daughters.
The two sons, John R. and Hiram, served during the war for the Union, the
former in the Seventh Ohio Infantry and the latter in the Twenty-fifth Michigan.
At the time John R. Blake enlisted he was attending school at Oberlin, Ohio.
He served six months and his brother three years. Mrs. Blake is also living,
and has reached a hale old age.

Timothy Hamlin came in late in 1832 or early in 1833, and located on Cook's
prairie. He married Eliza, a daughter of Anthony Doolittle, theirs being the
first marriage in the township.* Mr. Hamlin taught school in 1833, in a log
school-house which stood on the prairie, in the northeast corner of the township.
His wife was Mr. Doolittle's oldest child.

The first white child born in the township was a daughter of Mr. Doolittle's,
and hers was also the first death, unless perhaps that of Mrs. John Keith was
earlier. Mrs. K. died in May, 1835, and Mr. Doolittle's child died some time
during the same year. Among the early deaths were also those of a Mr. Hayes
and a Miss Cummin.

The first road in the township was the Jackson and White Pigeon Territorial
road, which was laid out as early as 1830, and was the main highway for people
coming into the country or passing farther west. It was marked for a long time
solely by blazes on the trees. With few exceptions its course is the same at
present as in the days of weary pioneer travel, forty years ago.

In the spring of 1833, Calvin Rogers came from Orleans county, New York,
with his wife and five children, and his father, Anthony Rogers. They located
at first in Clarendon township, where they resided until 1851 or '52, when they
removed to the farm on section 26, Eckford township, now owned by George
Hays. The house which Mr. Rogers built in Clarendon was one of the com-
mon log type, with stick chimney, mud-daubed cracks, " shake" roof, etc. They
raised flax, which Mrs. Rogers spun and wove into garments for summer wear,
while for their winter clothing the wool of a few sheep they possessed afforded the
material. Calico was not introduced into the settlement for a number of years,
and the only sugar used was that manufactured from the maple, which timber is
now comparatively scarce.

In the spring of 1834, A. B. Bartlett and Isaac Wells came to the township,
Bartlett locating on section 7 and Wells on section 9. Mr. Bartlett brought a
thrashing-machine with him, which was an article much needed by the farmers,
and a great improvement over the process of thrashing their grain with the flail
or tramping it out with horses on the barn floors.

Mr. Bartlett afterwards built a saw-mill on the St. Joseph river. It is yet
standing, but considerably decayed.

The St. Joseph river is here a somewhat insignificant stream, although its banks
are higher than in many other places, where they overflow extensively in the
rainy season.

In the year 1834, Cyrus' Heath came from Madison county, New York, and
located one hundred and sixty acres of government land in Clarendon, including
the west half of the southwest quarter of section 2, and the east half of the
southeast quarter of section 3. After locating his land he went back to New
York after his family, and on the last day of September, 1835, arrived on the
place the second time. The family then consisted of himself and wife and
one son, Cyrus Y. Heath, then only a year and a half old. During that fall
(1835) he built a log house on the place, his family stopping in the house of
David L. Hutchison until he could get his own cabin ready for their occupancy.
They moved into it in January, 1836, and lived in it until the next October, when
Mr. Heath sold his place to Elijah Andrus and Cornelius Putnam, and removed
to the farm upon which he now lives, on section 2. The land on which he now
resides was originally entered by Linard Born. Mr. Heath after purchasing the
place moved in with Mr. Born, and lived in the log house until and after the re-
moval of Mr. Born. In 1858, Mr. Heath built the frame house in which he
now resides. When Mr. Heath brought his family from New York they came
on the Erie canal to Buffalo, thence by the steamer " Commodore Perry" to De-
troit, where they loaded their goods upon a wagon, and made a five days' trip of
the remaining distance — about one hundred miles. Mr. Heath's father and
brother — John Heath and John Heath Jr. — came through Canada instead of
coming by water, and joined him at Detroit, from which point they made the
journey in company.

About 1834 Aserryl Flint came from Somerset, Windham county, Yermont,
with his wife and two children, Jane and Samuel A., and located on a farm on

* One authority states that this marriage was in 1834, and another that it occurred in 1837.
The latter date is probably aorrect.

188

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Cook's prairie, in Eckford township, where Hutchinson Cook now lives. The
family lived on this place eighteen or tw r enty years, when Mr. Flint removed to
Kinderhook, Branch county, where he afterwards died. In 1854, Samuel A.
Flint purchased the farm upon which he now resides, on section 8. In Novem-
ber of the same year he married Miss Laura D. Cooper, whose father, William
Cooper, settled the place in 1836, and lived on it till his death, which occurred
in 1852, when he had reached the age of nearly sixty-seven years. Mr. Cooper
brought his wife and eight children with him from Clarkson, Monroe county,
New York, and two other children stayed behind. Ozro H. Cooper, one of the
sous, is now living in Clarendon, and has been a prominent man among her citizens.
John Ballentine, now living on the old " Territorial road,'' on section 11, came
from Onondaga county, New York, and on the 25th day of January, 1834,
arrived at the village of Homer, then very diminutive in size. For four years
after Mr. Ballentine came he hauled goods for the Homer merchants from Detroit,
distant a hundred miles. The round trip occupied about six days, with good
going. A store was at that time carried on by Milton Barney at Homer, and he
owned the team with which Mr. Ballentine transported the goods. Mr. Ballen-
tine was married April 24, 1838, to Axy Ann Burns, at Homer, by Rev. Benjamin
Sabin, a Methodist minister, then living in the village. He (Ballentine) lived in
Homer about twenty years, and then removed to the fine farm in Clarendon upon
which he now resides. His brother, George Ballentine, came to the county in
1836, and lived for a time also in Homer. Is now a resident of the village of
Albion. The farm now owned by John Ballentine was settled in 1835 by Samuel
Blair, and part of the old farm is also owned by Franklin Mead.

Samuel Blair came in the fall of 1835, from Orleans county, New York, with
his daughter and his wife, and her three children, — two sons and one daughter.
Mrs. B. had been previously married to a man named Mead, and her son, Frank-
lin Mead, was at the time they immigrated a mere boy. The same season they
arrived, the front part of the frame house now standing was built. It was origi-
nally painted red, and the siding on the east end yet retains the color. The old
house is occupied by Mr. Mead, and is one of two houses yet standing which
were among the first built and still occupied. Mr. Blair located two hundred
acres of government land on section 11, and lived on the place two years and a
half, and died at an advanced age. Mrs. Blair died in September, 1862, aged
seventy-three years.

In 1835, J. W. Yandeburg came from Clyde, Wayne county, New York, and
bought one hundred and sixty acres on section 8, it being the east half of the
northeast quarter and the west half of the northeast quarter. At that time he
made no improvements on the place, and returned home. In the fall of 1838 he
came back, and between that time and the next spring made numerous improve-
ments — built a log house, then the best one in the township, cleared a small piece
of ground, and then went back after his family. In the fall of the same year
(1839) he returned with his wife and one child, a daughter. A son was born
some time afterwards, and is now living near Rochester, Minnesota. The daughter
was married to Simeon Swartwout, of Eckford township, and is since deceased.
The only one of her children now alive has his home with his grandfather, Van-
deburg, who lives in Homer. Mr. Vandeburg built his log house in the spring
of 1839. It was made of logs hewn smooth on the inside and left round on the
outside. Since he came to the township he has purchased considerable additional
land, and now owns three hundred and twenty acres within its limits. He has
lived for some time in the village of Homer.

Elijah Cook* located on section 35, Eckford township, in the spring of 1835,
and afterwards purchased one hundred and sixty acres on section 36. He died
in January, 1872. His son, Henry R. Cook, living on section 2 in Clarendon, is
one of a family of eight children.

Ozro J. Gordon came from Murray, Orleans county, New York, in September,
1835. His father, John J. Gordon, had come west in April of the same year,
and located in Franklin, Lenawee county, where he lived ten or twelve years, and
removed to Clarendon, Calhoun County. John J. Gordon was born in 1800, and
died April 4, 1875. When 0. J. Gordon first came to Michigan he stayed with
his parents in Lenawee county. His sister was married and removed to Calhoun
County, and he followed her about two years before his parents did. He is now
living in the township.

In 1836, Elijah Andrus came from Clarendon, Orleans county, New York, with
his wife and two sons, and settled on the farm where he now resides, the west
half of the southwest quarter of section 2 — eighty acres. He was the first set-
tler on the place. His son, Albert, was born on the place in 1839.

Jonathan, Samuel, and Gilbert Budd came to the township about 1836. Jona-
than died in 1839. Samuel removed to some other place, and is since deceased.
Gilbert Budd is the only one of the family now living in the township, and his

* See history of Eckford.

brother, Alexander Budd, resides in Eckford. He has had his home out of the
county for a number of years, and for some time lived in Wisconsin.

Daniel dimming came from Delaware county, New York, in 1836, and settled
in Clarendon, where he has resided most of the time since. He brought his
family with him, then consisting of his wife and seven children, — three sons and
four daughters ; four of the children are now living, one son, Hezekiah, east of
Clarendon Centre, and another, Alexander, in Quincy, Branch county, Michigan.
Two daughters are living, one the wife of Andrew Church, and the other of
Elihu Clark. Daniel Cumming lives with his son at Quincy, Branch county,
and has reached the age of about eighty-six years, being the oldest living of the
original settlers of the township. When the family first came they located on
Cook's prairie, in the northeast part of the township. There they lived four or
five years, afterwards removing to a farm on section 23, just north of Clarendon
Centre.

John S. Knapp settled early on section 10, probably about 1835-36, and is
still living on the place. He was a carpenter by trade, and worked most of his
time in Marshall. He had a log house on his claim, and made other early im-
provements.

Samuel Knapp came from the town of Parma, Monroe county, New York, in
1837, and brought his son Jonas with him, on a land-hunting tour. They went
back to New York, and afterwards bought three eighty-acre lots, on section 6, of
the man who had located it. One of the lots was fractional, containing but fifty-
three acres. When Mr. Knapp and his son Jonas came, they drove through
Ohio with a span of horses and a lumber-wagon, and in crossing the " Black
swamp" made very slow progress, sometimes being unable to advance more than
a single mile in a day, so terribly bad was the road. Mr. Knapp came back with
his family — eight children, five sons and three daughters, and a girl who was
living with them — in June, 1837. His wife died before he left New York, and
he never married again. Four of his children are now living, — three sons and
one daughter, the latter in Branch county, and the sons, Jonas, Jared, and
David, all near each other on section 6, Clarendon. When the family came from
New York they took the canal from Brockport to Buffalo, thence to Toledo by
way of Lake Erie, and from Toledo through by team. They stopped in John
Knapp's log house at first, until they could get up a shelter of their own. Samuel
Knapp built a small log shanty, and moved his family into it, where they lived
until he erected a more commodious structure. The second house he built was
also of logs, and is yet standing, occupied by Chester Beebe. After Mr. Knapp
settled he bought eighty acres of government land and two other eighty-acre lots,
all on section 6 except forty acres of the government land. He lived on his place
until September, 1867, and died aged nearly eighty-three years.

Newman Enos came in 1835, and located land on section 20, where he still

resides, his farm being one of the finest in the neighborhood. He was married

in 1837, and has passed forty years of his life in a state of " ffowWe-blessedness."

Lewis Benham, since removed to Albion, located land in 1835, and settled in

the township with his family in 1837.

Peter Blashfield came in 1835, and Iddo Blashfield in the fall of 1836. The
latter had five sons living in the township, all of whom were located in the imme-
diate neighborhood of each other in the western part of the township, in the
valley of the u St. Jo."

Ira Burley came to the township in 1836, but afterwards removed to Tekonsha.
Benjamin Doolittle came from Delaware county, New York, in 1837,* with
his wife and six children, and settled in September of that year on the farm now
owned by his son, Augustus Doolittle. They came by team to Buffalo, thence
by boat to Detroit, and thence by team again to their wilderness home. Mr.
Doolittle purchased two eighties on section 30, from the person who had entered
the land. He also made the first improvements, and was the first settler. Two
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. D., after they came west, and of the eight
there are six now living. Mr. Doolittle died in March, 1871, in his seventy-eighth
year. His wife is living with her son on the old place.

John Main came from Bergen, Genesee county, New York, and located land in
Clarendon in 1835, including the northwest quarter of section 29. He wentf
back again, and came and made a settlement in 1837, living on his place until
1869, when he removed to the village of Tekonsha. Mr. Main taught school
during the winter of 1837-38, and in June, 1838, went back to New York, and
married, returning with his wife soon after. He has been connected with the
Presbyterian church of Tekonsha (originally organized in Clarendon) since its
establishment.

William Doolittle, a brother of Benjamin Doolittle, came about a year after
his brother had settled.

James Humeston came from Clyde, Wayne county, New York, and located on

* Possibly in 1836.

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HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

189

section 19 in 1838. His brother, Artemas Humeston, had been to the township
and located land on the same section in 1834, and afterwards settled upon it.
James Humeston died May 20, 1872, aged seventy-five years, and Artemas died
in 1874. Their farms are among the well-cultivated and highly-improved tracts
which are found in the southwestern part of the township, and their location and
advantages bear testimony to the good taste of the persons who chose them for
their future homes.

Eber W. Shepard, living at Clarendon Centre, is also numbered among the
early settlers of the township, having resided in it nearly forty years.

John Harmon, now living in the village of Homer, was among the early comers
to Clarendon, though not one of the first. He was born in Ontario county, New
York, and lived in both Wayne and Seneca counties, most of the time in Wayne,
in the town of Lyons. In 1843 he came to Michigan and settled on the farm he
now owns, on section 27. He first purchased one hundred and sixty acres on 27
of John Burt, who lived near Homer. Some squatter had been on the place
and built a small log cabin, but left on account of having no title to the land. Mr.
Harmon became the first actual settler on the tract. He brought his wife and
four children — two sons and two daughters, the children all small — with him.
They moved into the squatter's cabin, and lived in it for about ten years, when
Mr. Harmon built the frame house which is now standing. The farm is finely
improved and in good condition, and Mr. H. is justly proud of the results of his
years of hard labor in fitting it up comfortably and conveniently. He arrived with
his family on the 5th day of June, 1843, and immediately cleared a piece of ground
and prepared one and one-fourth acres of garden, upon which he says he raised eighty
bushels of potatoes, and some corn, turnips, etc. He had sufficient corn from it
to fatten a hog to the weight of over four hundred pounds the first year. The first
season he cleared five acres and sowed it to wheat, and raised corn upon the same
ground in 1845. In 1846 he set out an orchard upon it, which is yet standing,
having borne for nearly thirty years.

CLARENDON CENTRE.

The first entry of lands at the corners was made by William Mills, probably as
early as 1832, on section 26. Mills was from Geneseo, Livingston county, New

York.

In 1833, Samuel N. Bently came from Livonia, Livingston county, New York,
and in April of that year arrived at Concord, Jackson county, Michigan. He
afterwards removed to Calhoun County, and lived for a considerable period in Albion
township, where he carried on a shoe-shop. In October, 1851, he came to Clar-
endon Centre, and located on section 26, where he now lives. He was but twenty-
three years old when he came from New York, and made the trip alone. After
removing to the " Centre" he opened a grocery-store about 1857-58, and has been
in the business most of the time since. The building he now occupies was erected

in 1863.

Some time during either Pierce's or Buchanan's administration a post-office was
established at the corners, and W. L. Deming was appointed first postmaster.
Deniing appointed Mr. Bently deputy. The post-office was called Clarendon
Centre. Most of the time after Deming had the office it was under the charge
of Mr. Bently, until 1874, when it was removed to Clarendon station, on the Air-
Line railway, and Rockwell Hazen appointed postmaster. In 1876, the office not
paying, it was abolished, and at present there is none in the township.

A blacksmith-shop was opened by a Mr. Sylvester several years previous to the
breaking out of the Southern Rebellion, and Mr. Bently also started one very soon
after Sylvester began work.

There have also been a saw-mill, other wagon- and blacksmith-shops, etc., at the
corners, and at one time the prospect was good for a considerable village to spring
up on the site; but the location of the railway nearly two miles north of it effect-
ually nipped in the bud any such enterprise, laudable though it may have been.
The situation is high and commanding, and in the midst of a fine agricultural

region.

John Prior came from Erie county, New York, in August, 1837, and located
on the farm where he now lives, on section 26. He brought his wife with him.
His first purchase was that of forty acres of land from a man named Wood, who
had settled it, built a log house, and made a small clearing before Mr. Prior came.

THE FIRST TOWN-MEETING

in Clarendon township was held on the first Monday in April, 1838. Aaron B.
Bartlett was chosen moderator, and Timothy Hamlin clerk. The following offi-
cers were elected: Supervisor, Truman Rathbun; Town Clerk, Timothy Hamlin;
Assessors, Horace B. Hayes, John Main, Ira Sumner; Collector, Charles B.
White* Directors of the Poor, Samuel Blair, Cornelius Putnam; Commissioners
of Highways, Alonzo H. Rogers, George W. Hayes, Elijah Andrus; School In-
spectors, John Main, Ira Sumner, Horace B. Hayes; Justices of the Peace, Tru-

man Rathbun, William Cooper, John Main, Ira Sumner. The town was divided
into eight road districts, and the following persons appointed their overseers:
number one, John Kennedy; number two, Elijah Andrus; number three, William
Cooper; number four, David L. Hutchison; number five, Jacob Rosecrantz;
number six, Horace B. Hayes; number seven, Iddo Blashfield; number eight,
Ebenezer Jones. The following is a list of the township supervisors from 1838
to 1876, inclusive: 1839 and 1840, George W. Hayes; 1841, Anthony Doolittle;

1842, James Humeston; 1843, Devereux S. Harrington; 1844, James Humes-
ton; 1845-46, D. S. Harrington; 1847 to 1851, Timothy Hamlin; 1852, Henry
R. Cook; 1853-54, James Humeston; 1855-56, Elisha H. Cook; 1857 to 1863,
William Cook ; 1864, H. R. Cook ; 1865, William Cook ; 1866-69, Peter Mitchell ;
1870-74, William Cook; 1875, Reuben Drinkwater; 1876, William Cook.

The town clerks for the same period have been as follows: 1839-41, Ira Sum-
ner; 1842-43, William Cook; 1844-45, Timothy Hamlin; 1846, Ira Wilkins ;
1847, Milo Cagin; 1848, Ira J. Wilkins; 1849, William Cook; 1850-51, Frank-
lin Mead; 1852-54, William Cook; 1855, Marcius L. Clark; 1856-73, Spencer
Humeston; 1874-76, Samuel A. Flint.

Justices of the Peace.— 1839, John Main, Horace B. Hayes, Loren Keep;
1840, John Main, Timothy Hamlin ; 1841, Ira Sumner; 1842, Horace B. Hayes;

1843, Timothy Hamlin, Timothy Cook; 1844, James Humeston, Nathaniel
Knowles; 1845, Timothy Hamlin; 1846, Horace B. Hayes; 1847, Henry R.
Cook; 1848, Erastus B. Enos; 1849, John Main, D. S. Harrington, Harvey
Kennedy; 1850, Loren Keep; 1851, H. R. Cook, A. C. Clark; 1852, A. C.
Clark; 1853, Chauncey Brown; 1854, M. N. Moulthrop; 1855, Franklin Mead;
1856, A. C. Clark, William Cook; 1857, William Rosecrantz, Charles Doolittle;
1858, Samuel A. Flint, H. R. Cook; 1859, H. R. Cook; 1860, Samuel N.
Bently; 1861, A. C. Clark; 1862, S. A. Flint; 1863, H. R. Cook; 1864, Spencer
Humeston; 1865, A. C. Clark, Franklin Mead; 1866, S. A. Flint; 1867, Frank-
lin Mead; 1868, S. Humeston, Win. Cook; 1869, A. C. Clark; 1870, S. A.
Flint; 1871, Lafayette Andrus; 1872, S. Humeston; 1873, Edwin G. Rose-
crantz; 1874, William B. Blashfield, John Woolever; 1875, L. Andrus, A. C.
Clark; 1876, S. Humeston, Reuben Drinkwater.

Constables.— 1839, Orlen Putnam, John Prior, Barnes Kennedy, Green Wells ;
1840, Franklin Wells, John Prior, Green Wells ; 1841, Charles Doolittle, Michael
Gregg, Alvin Blashfield; 1842, Charles Doolittle, Thurston Wells, Lewis Ben-
ham (2d), George W. Shepherd; 1843, Green Wells, Isaac Rogers, Barnes Ken-
nedy, Warren L. Deming; 1844, David Cooper, Thurston Wells; 1845, Alonzo
E. Hayes, Barnes Kennedy; 1846, W. L. Deming, A. S. Church, John Keith;
1847, Barnes Kennedy, Harvey Kennedy, Isaac Rogers, B. F. Wells; 1848,
Alonzo E. Hayes, A. C. Clark, Isaac Rogers, T. K. Wells; 1849, E. G. Rose-
crantz, Charles Smith, Chauncey Williams, Isaac Doolittle; 1850, David Knapp,
Benjamin Rosecrantz, Charles Smith, Edwin Rosecrantz; 1851, Calvin Mitchell,
Ozro Cooper, J. A. Doolittle, A. C. Clark; 1852, J. H. Cook, E. G. Rosecrantz,
Franklin Mead, J. S. Knapp; 1853, E. G. Rosecrantz, Green Wells, Smith
Nevins, Letsom Benham ; 1854, G. M. Clark, D. Knapp, D. M. Cooper, W..L.
Deming; 1855, Augustus Doolittle, Henry Failing, Riley Hilliard, John Bush;
1856, J. Woolever, J. H. Cook, J. Brainard, L. Andrus ; 1857, S. Nevins, O. P.
Vandeburg, A. Doolittle, B. Kennedy; 1858, James Clark, O. H. Cooper, M.
Blashfield, Joseph Ladow; 1859, Green Wells, O. H. Cooper, J. S. Nevins,
Thos. Hartley ; 1860, E. J. Sherman, E. G. Rosecrantz, O. H. Cooper, G. Wells ;
1861, C. B. Kennedy, O. H. Cooper, E. J. Sherman, Marsena Kennedy; 1862,

D. J. Willson,.G. H. Cooper, Charles Vandebogart, E. G. Rosecrantz; 1863,
William Rosecrantz, Alexander A. Clark, D. J. Willson, O. H. Cooper; 1864,

E. G. Rosecrantz, D. J. Willson, A. A. Clark, J. A. Clark; 1865, George Bal-
lentine, E. G. Rosecrantz, E. D. Lum, Norman Powers; 1866, William Shep-
herd, Theron Phelps, William B. Janes, 0. H. Cooper; 1867, G. H. Ballentine,
W. R, Shepherd, S. T. Bates, Charles Doolittle ; 1868, 0. H. Cooper, S. T. Bates,
Levi Smith, E. G. Rosecrantz; 1869, 0. J. Gordon, J. W. Woolever, 0. H.
Cooper, S. T. Bates ; 1870, William Shepherd, Alvin Hopkins, David Jones, Geo.
Ballentine; 1871, W. R. Shepherd, J. H. Eldred, A. Hopkins, Horace Andrus;
1872, J. H. Eldred, Merritt Andrews, John P. Woolever, D. J. Willson; 1873,
D. J.' Willson, Charles Doolittle, Henry Enos, Alvin Hopkins ; 1874, Joseph
Pixley, G. P. Smith, 0. J. Gordon, Henry Enos ; 1875, 0. J. Gordon, J. Pixley,
Henry Enos, 0. H. Cooper; 1876, 0. H. Cooper, Joseph Pixley, David Janes,
Palmer Blashfield.

During the war of the Rebellion the township of Clarendon came nobly to the
front, and not once was the draft enforced in her limits, bounties being raised by
tax to pay to volunteers. Her sons went bravely forth to battle for the right, and
to preserve the Union, and many never returned, while others bear sad proofs that
they were in the bloody conflict between man and man, in their empty sleeves, and
by the crutch which supports their maimed bodies. They descended from a
hardy race, who had been pioneers in every part of the country as it was explored

190

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

and settled, and were not afraid to shoulder arms and march away to meet a most
ungrateful brotherhood in deadly battle. The voices of freemen sleeping lowly on
southern fields, by mountain, river, bayou, and marsh, and in the confines of the
prison pen, constantly remind those left behind of their loss and their country's
gain, and recall to mind the events of fifteen years ago, when

The valiant lines of the blue and the gray
Stood ranked in proud and stern array,
All eager, all ready, for deadly affray.

The land of the palmetto and orange is hallowed by the best blood of the
country's brave sons ; those who are left, and who hold precious the memory of
the fallen, join in a fervent anthem to their worth and chant a solemn dirge over
their ashes, to accompany the sighing requiem breathed by the pine forests and
taken up and swelled into an undying strain by the citizens of this broad land,
who thank them for their services and earnestly hope to meet them

" among the good and true,

When robes of white are given for their faded coats of blue.'*
SCHOOLS.

The first school in the township was taught on Cook's prairie as early as 1833,
in a log school-house which stood near the town line, in the northeast corner of
the township. The first teacher was Timothy Hamlin. School was held in this
building for two winters, when it accidentally caught fire and was burned down.
After the school-house was burned, school was kept in a log house on the Cook
place, in Eckford township. This house was the one the family of Henry Cook
first lived in, and was built in six days. After this, a frame house was built on
the southwest quarter of section 1, Clarendon, nearly opposite Mr. Rogers' resi-
dence. This building was used some time and was finally purchased by parties
in Homer village, who removed it to that place. The next school-house in the
district (fractional district No. 1) was the brick one now standing on the north-
west corner of section 1, opposite the Free-Will Baptist church, on land taken
from the farm of William Cook.

In district No. 2, a school w T as taught in 1839, in a log house built for a dwell-
ing by Levi Scobie. A small number of pupils attended, and were taught by
Irena Hayes, who is now the wife of Richard Rosecrantz, living in Butler, Branch
county. In 1841 or '42, a log school-house was built in this district, and stood
until about 1852, when a frame building was erected, which was finally removed
and the frame structure now standing put up in its place, on the same lot the old
log school-house stood on. When the latter was built, the land was owned by
John Keith, but has since been leased for school purposes. Among the early
teachers were Alvira Southard, Ellen Debow, and Martha Prior, the latter prob-
ably the first one who taught in the log school-house.

District No. 3 was originally a part of district No. 1. The first school-house
in the new district was built of logs, in 1849, although a school had been kept
in a private house a year or two before. The log building was used about fifteen
years, and the frame school-house now standing was built afterwards, occupying
the same site the old one stood upon, which was taken from the Mitchell farm.

In fractional district No. 4, the first school-house was a small log structure built
in 1837, on Mr. Doolittle's land, on the northwest corner of the northeast quarter
of section 30. The first teacher in it was John Main, who is now livin^ in Te-
konsha village. The log building was used a number of years, and finally torn
away, being succeeded by the frame school-house now standing on the northwest
corner of section 29, half a mile east of the old site.

The first school-house in what is now district No. 5 was built of logs, about
1845, chiefly through the efforts of John Harmon. It stood on land owned by
William Mills, just opposite Mr. Harmon's house, on the east side of the road.
Horace B. Hayes probably taught the first winter school in this building. He
now lives in Eckford. This school-house, built of oak and maple lo^s, hewn on
the inside and round outside, was used for fourteen or fifteen years, and finally
torn away. The present, frame edifice stands on the southwest corner of the
northwest quarter of section 23, north of Clarendon Centre.

Farther south in the township school-houses were not built until later. The
families were generally young married people, and as there were few or no children
schools were not necessary for some years. The first school-houses were built of
logs, as in other parts of the township.

At present there are ten districts and fractional districts in Clarendon, contain-
ing eight school buildings, all comfortable and commodious, and some of them
new. The advantages for schooling are equal to those of any township in the
county which possesses the same means, and the schools and school properties do
credit to the citizens.

CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES.

The first religious society in Clarendon was organized by the Presbyterians, in
February, 1838, with twenty-one members. They held their first meetings in

school-houses, and finally a log church on the southwest corner of the southeast
quarter of section 18, and used for a number of years. The first preacher was
Rev. Mr. Smith, who stayed one year, and was followed by Rev. Mr. Mason. The
next pastor was Rev. Lewis Mills, who organized a church at Tekonsha during
his pastorate, and was the last Presbyterian minister who preached in the Clarendon
church. This congregation finally disorganized and joined the one at Tekonsha,
which has continued up to the present.

The Methodist Episcopal church of Clarendon was organized about 1840, and
meetings were held for several years at the log house of Lewis Benham. He
afterwards built a frame house, and allowed the congregation the exclusive use of
his old log dwelling. The frame church now standing was built some time be-
tween 1840 and 1850, by general subscription, in order that all classes might use
it to hold funerals and different meetings in, irrespective of belief. This congre-
gation has also been transferred to Tekonsha, and the old church building is seldom
used.

CEMETERIES.

Clarendon has three fine cemeteries, one on section 1, laid out as early as
1836-37, another east of Clarendon Centre, on section 26, and a third on section
18. These resting-places for the remains of the departed are well kept, and
occupy beautiful sites, and contain the mortal remains of many of the early pio-
neers, and the best and most influential of the citizens of the township who lived
"long ago." Here, in the land of their adoption, beneath the turf which grows
luxuriantly over them, while the polished marble tells us to tread lightly and
reverently,

" Each in his narrow cell forever laid,
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep/'

The cemetery lot on section 18 was taken from the farm owned by Erastus B.
Enos, and laid out in 1845. May 3 of that year the cemetery association was
organized, at a meeting held for the purpose at the Presbyterian church. The
original lot consisted of one acre, for which Mr. Enos was paid ten dollars and
given a lot equal in size to the others, eight by sixteen feet. The three persons
who originally had charge of it and laid it out were Loren Keep, William Blash-
field, and James Humeston. Of these three Mr. Keep is the only one now living
He has held the office of treasurer of the association since it was formed, and has
kept a record of the burials from the first to the present. The first person buried
in this cemetery was Miss Adelia Knapp, whose interment took place May 20,
1845. The next was an old lady named Powers, who was interred here March
20, 1846. Soon after this a number of persons who had been temporarily buried
on farms in the neighborhood were removed to it, and it gradually filled up until
finally it became necessary to enlarge it. Accordingly an additional half-acre was
added to it. This ground occupies one of the finest locations for such a purpose
in the township.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

RUSSELL ALDRICH.

Among the surviving pioneers of Calhoun County, we take pleasure in men-
tioning the name of Russell Aldrich. He was born in the State of New York
in the year 1796. In 1832 he visited the Territory of Michigan, and for a year
or two engaged in selecting, locating, buying, and selling wild lands.

He was back and forth from New York two or three times before he made a
final settlement. He was an inmate of the family of the Rev. John D. Pierce,
who was one of the earliest ministers that preached at Marshall. In the year
1835 he was united in marriage to Miss Agubah A. Townsley, of Oneida county,
New York. He, soon after his marriage, settled on a new farm, one mile east
of Marshall, where he remained until 1850, when he exchanged his farm for one
fifteen miles south of Marshall, in the town of Clarendon, where he has ever
since resided. Mrs. Aldrich died in 1872.

His son, George W. Aldrich, his only child, was born in 1837, and was reared
a farmer, and at the age of twenty-seven, in 1864, was married to Miss Jennie
Perkins, of Tekonsha. The fruits of this marriage are two children, daughters,
whose ages are respectively three and six years. The old gentleman and his
children and grandchildren all live together in one happy family.

Mr. Aldrich is to-day, at the advanced age of eighty years, in the possession
of good health and all his faculties except his hearing. He is a man that all
through his long life has earned and retained the respect and esteem of his
friends and acquaintances.

In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, having been a member of that church
nearly all his life. A fine view of the family home may be seen elsewhere in the
pages of this work. And with this brief notice, as a tribute to the memory of
one of the old pioneers of Calhoun County, we bid him farewell.

1 •'*

''**&/

■ i'V-i'-c-

'•■;, ; ,41.k

CLARENCE TOWNSHIP.

History in the main is but a detail of intrigue, war, and cruelty, and nations
become prominent as their rapacity finds success. While the powers of Europe
are actively engaged in a contest whose limits are undefinable, the United States
enjoy profound peace, and whether in Government, State, county, or township,
the fullest liberty exists, and each pursues his calling to benefit himself, and
thereby add to the sum of general prosperity. The foundations of this happy
condition of society were laid in the townships of each county by men intelligent
and patriotic. It is of more than local interest to know who these men were and
by^what means they have achieved success. The plan of detailed and primary
record well subserves this important end. The township of Clarence, according
to United States survey, was formerly designated as "town 1, south; range 4,
west ;" but in 1834 it was united with what are now known as Sheridan and Lee,
and known as the township of Marengo. This organization was consequent to an
act of the Territorial legislature.

The name first given to the township was " Pinkney," and under that designa-
tion the first town-meeting was called in 1840. It is known that at the first
town-meeting, held in 1836, in Sheridan, there were present four votes from this
township, and, as they exercised their right of suffrage, this territory must then
have formed a part of Sheridan.

A survey of the township results in the discovery of a region well supplied with
water, and noted for its lakes, marshes, and healthful living springs. Of the lakes,
Duck lake is the largest, and presents the observer with a view at once inviting
and picturesque. A basin of water is seen to comprise an area of some seven
hundred acres in dimensions, a mile and a half long by three-quarters wide, sur-
rounded by high banks overhung with luxuriant foliage. This lake, whose waters
are supplied by constant springs, forms the head-waters of Battle creek. This
locality was a favorite resort of the Potawattomie tribe of Indians, — a number
of whom lingered here for years after the advent of the white settlers.

An Indian village was situated near the southwest margin of the lake, upon
land now owned by Jacob Nichols. Here they were encamped in 1845, when Mr.
Nichols entered the land, and here they remained till removed by order of the
government. The love even of a forest home was cherished by these, disinherited
people, and stragglers, eluding the soldiers, returned to their old haunts, and
remained in the lake vicinity during life.

These " lone" Indians were ever friendly, and instances of strong attachments
formed for those who had befriended them are current history. At one time, two
brothers named Nichols engaged in a scuffle at a mill, and, as frequently happens,
one seemed to have lost control of his temper. He seized an old scythe-blade, and
threatened to use it. An Indian standing near by immediately caught up a hand-
spike, and would have used it promptly had not other men seized him from behind.
Supposing the parties to be in earnest, he had hastened to defend his favorite, —
the man threatened.

At the foot of Duck lake, and on the spot where the blacksmith-shop stands, is
one of those mounds so numerous in the valley of the Mississippi, and so undoubt-
edly ancient in their origin. The ignorance of the Indians, even traditionally, of
their builders, gives proof of an early occupation of this region by an unknown and,
to some extent, a civilized people. Elsewhere specimens of their handiwork have
been exhumed and plausible theories devised, but in the absence of proof each is
left to his own conjecture.

In the mound under consideration a skull was found in a fair state of preserva-
tion, having the teeth entire ; other bones forming the skeleton were exhumed.
The land surrounding Duck lake is unexcelled for farming purposes by any other
in the township. The soil is a light loam, mingled in some parts with sand, and
in others with clay.

Prairie lake lies in the southwest part of the township. A peninsula of land
extends nearly across the southern portion. This land is covered with a grove of
fine timber, which, designated as u Pleasant Mound Grove," is used for picnic
occasions by the surrounding population. A chain of six lakes lies in the south-
east of the township. Clark's lake is the largest. Bell's lake is second in size.
The others bear the names White, Wise, and Oakley, and connected by small
streams, and fed by fine springs, form the source of the north branch of Rice
creek. About twelve hundred acres are submerged by these lakes, which are sur-
rounded by marsh-land. A belt of timber extends across the township diagonally,

from the northeast corner past the foot of Duck lake to the northeast corner of
section 18.

Early settlers found the land covered with a valuable growth of timber, among
the species of which were walnut, cherry, whitewood, bass, and butternut. These
have mostly been cut away, and what remains is comprised in oak, hickory, and
maple, themselves by no means inferior. A large area of the west portion of the
township is marsh-land, and but a small part is available for agriculture. A fine
quality of white wheat is raised upon the farms adjacent to Duck lake. Corn and
oats return a heavy yield. Clover treated with plaster is profitable. The country
is adapted to sheep-husbandry, which obtains marked interest. Fine breeds of
sheep are in demand, and wool is likely to become a staple product.

FIRST SETTLERS.

In the spring of 1836, Benjamin P. Gillett settled with his family on sections
23 and 24, in the southeast part of the township. During the same season C.
W. Clapp, Andrew Bell, and Archibald Green located in the vicinity of Gillett.
Cook Tyler, William B. Noble, John Austin, and the Dyers, Frank and John,
settled in the central and eastern portions during the year following ; and in 1838
Y. M. Hatch located on section 30, in the southwest ; John B. Snyder, section
15, near the centre; and D. Y. Carrier on section 7, in the northwest. During
the same season Samuel Sellers, a blacksmith, moved in, as did also Judge Hamil-
ton, Norris Barns, and Abram Hadden. Theron Hamilton is supposed to have
settled in 1838. Of the pioneers, the only survivors are Mr. Hatch and Mr.
Carrier. In 1845, Jacob Nichols entered three forty-acre lots on section 20,
where he still resides. A house built of hewn logs, sealed within with white-
wood, is in good state of preservation at present. Mr. Nichols was the first settler
at the head of Duck lake, and for a year or two had none other than Indian
neighbors along that lake margin ; save being importunate beggars, there was no
inconvenience suffered from these few Indians.

The early settlers located as follows : Cook Tyler on section 22, upon land now
owned by J. R. Palmer ; Wright Clapp on what is known as the Bradner farm ;
and T. Hamilton on section 15, on the present farm of J. M. Gifford. Section
14 was entered by Deacon Andrew Bell, who, having a large family, thought to
give each child a farm. On July 4, 1839, the citizens of Clarence held a grand
picnic and celebration on the grounds at the head of Duck lake. The total
assembly numbered fourteen persons. T. Hamilton was orator of the day, and
C. W. Clapp read the Declaration of Independence. These men, descendants
from Revolutionary sires, had commemorated this anniversary from boyhood, and
on this occasion passed the day by the cool lake-side in pleasurable social inter-
course. Few in numbers and far from the old homes, they revived in these new
lands the customs of their forefathers with undiminished patriotism.

MILLS OF CLARENCE.

Timber-lands in the northern part of the township were, in 1848, purchased by
J. Crowell, J. D. Alcott, and L. Munson. A saw-mill was erected at the foot of
Duck lake, and the manufacture of lumber commenced. This mill having been
destroyed by fire, another was built, by William Leonard, in 1860. A steam saw-
mill was built by Mr. Bolls in 1863, on the Wilber farm, located in the northeast
of the township. It was burned in 1868, and soon after this event another, now
owned and operated by S. Wilber, was set up by a Mr. Dean.

The proprietors of the water saw-mill opened a store in the immediate vicinity,
and brought in a miscellaneous stock of goods. The building is still in use as a
store, and the merchant, J. Clyer, does a fair amount of business.

SCHOOLS.

No sooner had the early settlers completed their rude log dwellings than atten-
tion was given to the education of their children. The pioneer school in Clarence
was taught in a log house located on the Bell estate, in the east part of the town.
Miss Keliance Dixon, afterwards the wife of Oliver S. Bell, was employed as
teacher. A building soon afterwards put up at the centre is still standing, and in
a dilapidated condition. In use it has been superseded by a fine new brick struc-
ture. There are now eight fine school-houses in the township, corresponding to
the number of districts. Three are of brick, the rest are framed. All are supplied

191

192

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

with modern conveniences, and are justly regarded with pride. They have been
built during the last few years, at a cost of about ten thousand dollars.

Of religious organizations there are none. A Free-Will Baptist society was
formed in 1867. Meetings were occasionally held in school-houses, under conduct
of John H. Southworth, but have long since been discontinued. Spiritualism has
representation, and seances are held at private residences. Those availing them-
selves of church privileges attend at Albion. The idea of erecting a church at
the centre has been discussed, but finds little encouragement.

TOWN GOVERNMENT.

The first town-meeting in Clarence was held at the house of Norris Barns,
during April, 1838. On this occasion the following officers were chosen : Andrew
Bell, supervisor ; Cook Tyler, town clerk ; A. M. Green, treasurer ; W. B. Noble,
C. W. Clapp, Samuel Sellers, and A. P. Bell, justices of the peace ; Norris Barns,
A. M. Green, and W. B. Noble, assessors ; A. C. Bell, Y. M. Hatch, and Koswell
Barns, highway commissioners ; Messrs. Noble, Clapp, and Barns, school-inspec-
tors ; Andrew Bell and John Austin, overseers of the poor; 0. S. Bell, collector ;
and Messrs. Bell and Bennett, constables. The following named have held the
office of supervisor : Andrew Bell, for twelve years ; Benjamin Oakley, J. P.
Palmer, F. Dyer, Ezra Bradner, Mr. Bemis, Peter Harmon, John B. Snyder,
James Conger, J. R. Palmer, J. M. Gilford, C. I. Courtwright, J. N. Lawrence,
F. Cole, and Myron Snyder, present incumbent. Politically, the township is
democratic.

INITIAL EVENTS IN CLARENCE.

The first of a far-reaching and continuous series is regarded with interest, and
consequently the following items are recorded for preservation and information.
An improved thrasher and separator was introduced by J. H. Southworth, of
Marengo. David Oxhymer owned the first one held in the township. It was
manufactured by Aultman & Co., of Ohio. In 1860, B. R. Gillett purchased
and operated a mower made by Wood & Co. Adam Herrick introduced the first
drill, and Oliver Bell the first improved reaper — the " Cayuga Chief."

Samuel Sellers was the first resident blacksmith, and Dr. Osburn the pioneeer
physician, whose advent bears date 1851. The first birth dates July, 1838, and
presents the name of William A. Gillett, who died in 1849. The first death was
of Cadmus Fish, and in July, 1839, occurred the first marriage, the parties
being Allison Bell and Mary Fish.

Hiram Harwood, of Clarence, was the first man drafted from Calhoun County
to serve in the late war, and at once furnished a substitute.

The first bridge constructed at the foot of Duck lake was the work of Elijah
Green and others. It was of primitive make and material. The pioneer post-
master was J. B. Snyder, succeeded in turn by C. I. Courtwright and J. M. Gif-
ford. Formerly known as Clarence, the post-office has recently been named Duck

Lake Post-office. The present postmaster, W. A. Hill, is the successor of W.
F. Hill.

Ephraim Marble at an early date deeded to the town a half- acre of land, situ-
ated on the east side of the Duck lake road, at the town centre. Townsmen
purchased a half-acre adjoining, and this spot, consecrated to the sepulture of the
departed, was first used in the interment of Cadmus Fish. On the west side
of the road, and somewhat to the south, stands the town-house, a small structure
modeled on the plan of the antique district school-house. Here town-meetings
are held, and here the justice arbitrates controversy and decides abstruse points
of law.

A POPULAR AND PLEASANT RESORT.

Parties from the cities, provided with tents and camp-equipage, resort in con-
siderable numbers to Duck lake, to pass the summer days in fishing, boating, and
other recreations. Indian Spring is the favorite camping-ground. The pool is
located in the midst of a fine grove, standing upon the farm of A. J. Zebell.
The fish drawn from the lake represent the tribes of bass, pickerel, perch, and
others, sizable and abundant. This section abounds in snipe, grouse, and quail.
From June till October the recreationist may be found encamped upon this lovely
spot, luxuriating in the charms of nature and casting corroding care to the wirfds.
The population of Clarence, scarcely exceeding one thousand, furnished their fair
proportion of men to the volunteer army. Considerable attention is manifest in
the erection of elegant residences, and a spirit of enterprise truly commendable is
apparent. No settler of a date prior to 1840 resides in the township. Some
have migrated elsewhere, others have passed away forever, but their names are
recorded, to be remembered and honored when all else of handiwork or monument
is forgotten.

The following statistics are taken from the census of 1874 :

Population of Clarence. — Males, 532 ; females, 500 ; total, 1032.

Live-Stock. — Horses, one year old and over, 461 ; work oxen, 30 ; milch cows,
512 ; neat cattle, other than work oxen and cows, 454; swine, over six months
old, 569 ; sheep, over six months old, 1769 ; sheep sheared in 1873, 1075 ;
mules, 2.

Wheat on the ground, May, 1874, 1933 acres; wheat harvested 1873, 1413
acres; corn harvested 1873, 1183 acres; wheat raised 1873, 22,960 bushels;
corn raised 1873, 46,235 bushels; other grain raised 1873, 21,680 bushels;
potatoes raised 1873, 5191 bushels; hay cut 1873, 1935 tons; wool sheared
1873, 94,469 pounds ; pork marketed 1873, 62,145 pounds; butter made 1873,
46,775 pounds ; fruit dried for market, 5374 pounds ; cider made, 491 barrels ;
maple-sugar made 1873, 50 pounds ; acres of orchards, peach, apple, plum, etc.,
375 ; apples raised 1873, 9880 bushels ; pears raised 1873, 5 bushels ; plums
raised 1873, 2 bushels; cherries raised 1873, 249 bushels; currants and goose-
berries, 109 bushels; melons and garden vegetables, 46 bushels.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

YOUNGLOVE MONROE HATCH,

MRS. YOUNGLOVE MONROE HATCH,

YOUNGLOVE MONROE HATCH

was born February 15, 1803, in the town of Brutus, Cayuga county, New
York, and was the seventh in a family of nine children. His father died when
the lad was but seven years old, leaving his mother in very straitened circum-
stances, and consequently the subject of our sketch was, at a tender age, thrown
entirely upon his own resources for his support and education- He resided in
Brutus until he was nineteen years of age, when he removed to the town of
Wolcott, Wayne county, New York, where he made the acquaintance of Hannah,
daughter of Jesse and Anna Swift, to whom he was married the day he attained his
majority, February 15, 1824. She was born April 4, 1799, and is a remarkably
well-preserved woman both mentally and physically, and is a native of Scipio,
25

Cayuga county, New York, In 1837, Mr. Hatch and his family removed to
Calhoun County, and located on the northeast quarter of section 21, in the town-
ship of Clarence, he purchasing the entire quarter^section for seven hundred dol*
lars. His family was the second one to settle in the township. The following
children are the fruits of this marriage : Lorinda, now Mrs. Ephraim Marble, of
Marengo township ; Henry, who died in California when thirty years of age j
James W., residing in Fredonia township; Susan M., deceased; and Emerette,
now Mrs. Robert J. Stark.

We present to our readers the portraits of these worthy old pioneers in this
connection.

193

BEDFORD TOWNSHIP.

An examination of the records at the land-office reveals the fact that the first
lot located in Bedford township was by one John Bertram, the patent for which
bears date July 9, 1832. Inquiry among the pioneers tends to show that Bertram
never effected a permanent settlement on this land, making his headquarters in
Marshall township. The honor of priority of residence devolves upon Roswell
Crane, who came in and settled on the farm long afterwards known as the Josiah
Gilbert place, on section 28, now owned by Chester W. Eldred, in the spring of
1833. John Conway followed soon after, and erected a small saw-mill on a little
stream near its estuary, and within a few rods of the Kalamazoo river, on section
34. In 1 834, probably in the fall, George Johnson and a man by the name of
Tower came in, the latter taking up a temporary residence on section 27 ; this farm
was afterwards occupied by Jacob Stringham. The same year Josiah Gilbert
purchased the farm settled by Roswell Crane, upon which he erected a somewhat
larger and better log house than the generality of those around him, and opened
a house of entertainment, where " man or beast" could partake of his hospitality,
at a very trifling cost. In 1835, Eli Douglass came in, and in the summer of the
year following, Harvey and A. W. Cooley, brothers, S. H. Carman, George B.
and John Hamilton, and Jonas Young, all accompanied by their families except
A. W. Cooley, who was unmarried. These settled in the northwestern part of
the township. The same year A. L. Clark came in, and located on section 7.
This year was prolific in the number of good substantial settlers who came in.
Among these were Nathaniel Barney, father of Milton and Oliver Barney, who
settled on section 34. Isaac Sutton, accompanied by his wife and eight sons and
one daughter, came in this year, and entered and settled upon section 25. He
took up the entire section. An anecdote is related of him which is "too good to
be lost." After entering his land lie had occasion to go to Kalamazoo, and having
no convenience he had to go afoot. On his return trip he stopped overnight at
a farm-house, and his hostess, being of an inquisitive turn of mind, began to in-
terrogate him as to his plans, etc. ; among other things, remarking " that she
couldn't understand why so elderly a man (he was verging on fifty) should come
out to this wild country. She was still more surprised when he informed her
that he had entered a whole section. " I want to know what on airth be you
going to do with it ?" " Why," replied he, " I propose to make a good farm of
it." She intimated that it would require a good deal of help to cultivate so large
a tract of land. " Well, ma'am," he explained, " I am supplied with help. I
have eight sons, and they each have a sister." " La' sakes ! sixteen children ?"
" No, ma'am, I have but one daughter." The old lady was satisfied.

Erastus R. Wattles settled on section 3. John Armstrong settled on section 10.
Noah P. Crittenden settled on section 33, in 1837, and resided there until 1843,
when he came to his death under very melancholy circumstances. He was a pas-
senger on the steamer " Erie," which was totally destroyed by fire, near the mouth
of Silver creek, on Lake Erie, and he was among those either burned to death
or drowned in that catastrophe.

John M. Cole came in and settled on section 3, in 1837. Also David Stillson,
brother of Eli L. and George L. Stillson, who settled on section 29; and John
and Abraham Frost, on section 19, the same year. In 1838, Caleb Kirby settled
on section 17, on the farm now occupied by his widow, Mrs. Susan N. Kirby. Mr.
K. was elected first supervisor. John Meachem, Esq., came into the township in
1835, and assisted in the erection of Hutchinson's saw-mill, and attended to other
business, but did not settle on his place, the farm now owned by Dwight Cole
and others, until 1840. He was elected the first township clerk. %

The first farm was opened by Roswell Crane, on section 28, in the spring of
1833, and also by him was sowed the' first wheat in the township, the same season.

The first log house was also erected by him, in January, 1833. The first frame
house was built by Noah P. Crittenden, on his farm in section 33, in 1837 or 1838.
The first brick house was built by George W. Angell, on section 35, in 1850. It
is now owned and occupied by N. G. Austin.

The first birth was Abraham, son of John Hamilton, born in June, 1838.

The first marriage and death we have been unable to ascertain with sufficient
definiteness to hazard their statement.

The first tavern was built and kept by Nathaniel Barney, in 1836, on the
Battle Creek and Hastings road, on 'section 34, near the present residence of his
son, Oliver Barney. It was a log house, and he kept it for a number of years.
194

THE FIRST SCHOOL-HOUSE

was erected in the southern district about 1839. It was built through the energy
of Isaac Sutton, who was desirous of giving his children the advantages of edu-
cation. The school was first taught by Miss Lydia Mott, who resided at Hickory
Grove, Jackson county. The first scholars were the Suttons, Mills, and Coxes ; in
all about a dozen.

THE FIRST ROAD

running through the township we learn from the following record :

" Field notes of a road surveyed April 22, 1833, in the township of Milton,
and county of Calhoun (this was prior to the organization of Bedford, and when
Milton was a confederation of future townships).

" Commencing at a stake on Territorial road, 4 chains and 44 links north from
quarter-post between sections 28 and 29, town 1 south, range 8 west.

" 1, north 72° 15" west, 143 chains, 70 links to stake; 2, north 88° west,
55 chains; 3, north 78° 30" west, 12 chains, 25 links; 4, south 78° west, 12
chains, 12 links to west side of creek on the west line of section 30, near the
southwest corner of said section, on the bank of the Kalamazoo river, — section
corner not to be found, — intersecting a road in Kalamazoo county.

" M. Preston, Surveyor.

" We have laid out and established a public highway road .according to the
above survey.

"Jeremiah Gardner,
"Isaac Thomas,

" Commissioners of Highways.
"Samuel Convis, Township Clerk"

first improved stock.

The first thorough-bred merinos were introduced into Bedford township (just
over the Pennfield line) by Colonel William C. Fonda, in 1854. He purchased a
Vermont buck, for which he paid five hundred dollars, and had several fine sheep
of that breed, which cost him from two hundred and fifty to four hundred
dollars.

The first improved " short-horns" were imported from Pennsylvania in 1853.
They consisted of some fine Durhams, from the John North stock farm, in
Chester county, and also some splendid Alderneys, which Colonel Fonda procured
from John Burton, and he from the well-known breeder, Bates, of England, and
from Samuel Sharpless and Richard Darlington, of Chester county, Pennsylvania.
He also imported some fine Chester White hogs in 1860.

This stock furnished the surrounding country, and supplied a want long felt by
stock-raisers. It did much towards the improvement of stock, and fine-graded
animals are now plentiful in various parts of the county.

THE FIRST SAW-MILL

was erected by John Conway, near the mouth of a small branch of the Kalamazoo
river, in 1834. He conducted operations until about 1839, when it was discon-
tinued, and a new mill was erected on the same water-power, a little east of the
original site, by Joel G. Goff. He continued the mill until about 1856, when
the present one was built, about forty rods east of its predecessor. The same
dam has served all three of these mills, only being differently tapped, so as to be
the better utilized. The proprietor of the present mill, which, as above stated,
was built in 1856, is Philo Pratt.

The saw-mill at Bedford Centre was built by John Armstrong, John Meachem,
and Hon. V. P. Collier, for Matthias Hutchinson, in 1837. It was operated for
many years, and finally repaired and converted into a wagon-shop by Jonathan H.
Halstead. The remnant of the old mill still stands, a solitary and venerable land-
mark and memento of "ye olden time."

THE FIRST GRIST-MILL

was erected by H. M. Marvin in 1855, and put in operation in the year following.
He conducted the mill until 1866, when he disposed of it to Messrs. Kane &
Meachem. After various changes in the copartnership, — through all of which
Mr. Meachem remained, — the present firm was established by the admission of
George Colborn in February. 1876. The style of the concern is now Meachem &

John Cox.

ftRS.JOHNCOX.

Residence or JOHN COX, BEoroRDTp., Calhoun County, Michigan.

t

M

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

195

Colborn. The amount of custom-work of all kinds for the year 1876 was twenty
thousand bushels.

CIVIL ORGANIZATION.

The township was organized in 1839, and includes a single surveyed township —
township 1 south, range 8 west — within its limits.

The following extracts from the township records show that the first township-
meeting was held at the house of Josiah Gilbert, on the 18th day of April, a.d.
1839:

" The meeting was organized by appointing Caleb Kirby moderator, and John
Meachem, Joseph Kirby, Erastus R. Wattles, and John L. Bolcom inspectors of
election, who, having qualified, appointed Lucian M. Weaver clerk.

" The meeting then proceeded to vote for township officers, which resulted as
follows :

"Supervisor, Caleb Kirby; Township Clerk, John Meachem; Treasurer, Isaac
Sutton; Assessors, Schuyler Goff, John P. Ames, and Harvey Cooley; Collector,
John Armstrong; School Inspectors, John Meachem, Caleb Kirby, and Abra-
ham Lockwood; Directors of the Poor, Isaac Sutton and Jacob Frost; Commis-
sioners of Highways, Isaac Sutton, E. R. Wattles, and Stephen H. Cannon;
Justices of the Peace, John P. Ames (one year), John Meachem (two years),
George B. Hamilton (three years), Noah P. Crittenden (four years) ; Constables,
John Armstrong and John Hamilton ; Overseers of Highways, John Stringham
(district No. 1), Solomon Trip (2), Jacob Stringham (3), John Meachem (4),
Harvey Lane (5), Josiah Gilbert (6), Thomas H. Thomas (7), John Hamilton
(8), Schuyler Goff (9).

" Voted, that there be a pound erected in the centre of the township, and that
John Meachem be pound-master.

" Voted, that there be two hundred dollars raised for the purpose of building
a bridge over the Kalamazoo river, in road district No. 9.

" Voted, that a map be procured from the land-office for the use of the
assessors.

" Voted, that the next township-meeting be held at the house of John
Meachem.

" April 3, 1839, E. R. Wattles was appointed deputy township clerk.

" At a meeting of the town board held on the 18th of April, 1839, the follow-
ing vacancies were filled by appointment : Josiah Gilbert, overseer of highways
in district No. 6 ; E. R. Wattles, school inspector in place of Abraham Lockwood,
who neglected to qualify.
" To the Clerk of Calhoun County :

" We do hereby certify that we believe the persons herein named possess the
requisite qualifications for jurors for the year 1839, viz., Abraham Frost, Noah
P. Crittenden, David Stillson, Joseph Kirby, and Lucian M. Weaver.

"H. Cooley, ^

"J. P. Ames, V Assessors.

" Schuyler Goff, J
" John Meachem, Township Clerk.

"Bedford, May 25, 1839."

The township clerks from 1840 to 1876, inclusive, have been John Meachem
(eight years), Thomas Halbert (three years), Wm. W. Lobdell, Benjamin J.
Weed, George W. McAllister, Charles C. Swift, Adam Crozier, John C. Wilde,
Dwight Cole (three years), Julius Ramsford, Frank A. Ford (two years), Silas
H. Corwin (three years), Edwin F. Avery, Benjamin F. Reynolds, Joseph R.
Godsmark (two years), Geo. W. Nichols, Lorenzo H. Fish (two years) P. M. Fish
(three years), Simeon E. Bryant, Orson A. Nichols, — appointed to fill the vacancy
caused by Mr. Fish removing.

The supervisors from 1840 to 1876, inclusive, have been Isaac Sutton (two
years), Caleb Kirby (six years), Abraham Lockwood, Asa U. Sutton (two years),
Piatt Gilbert (two years), Artemus Doane (two years), Harry Harman (six years),
John C. Wilde (five years), Elias C. Manchester, Chester W. Eldred, David S.
Swift (two years), Orson A. Nichols (two years), Haman Bradley, Edward White
(two years), Harry Harman (two years, present incumbent).

The justices of the peace for the same period have been Erastus R. Wattles
(eight years), Geo. W. Angell (nine years), John Meachem (eleven years), Geo.
B. Hamilton (sixteen years), David Stillson (vacancy), Geo. W. McAllister, John
Armstrong, Daniel P. Chase (vacancy), John Fellows, James W. Pugsley, Caleb
Kirby (eight years), John Sweeney (vacancy), Cephas B. Hubbard, Austin G.
Rowell, John C. Wilde (eight years), J. C. Bryant, C. B. Hubbard (ten years),
Charles Austin, Abraham Frost, Milton Barney, David S. Swift (eight years),
Stanley Meachem (eight years), Erastus W. Jones (vacancy), John Stringham
(vacancy), Elias C. Manchester (nine years), John. W. Wilkinson, Orson A.
Nichols, Joseph C. Cook, Geo. W. Nichols, Geo. M. Evans (vacancy), Joseph P.
Cook (four years), Homer Case (three years), R. B. Jones (two years), Seth

Pratt (four years), John Godsmark (one year), Charles Sloan, W. C. Dumphrey
(vacancy).

DRAINAGE.

The township is watered in the southern portion by the Kalamazoo river, cen-
trally by Wabasacon creek, northerly by Wabasacon lake, and easterly by Seven-
Mile creek and St. Mary's lake.

The name of the township was suggested by Josiah Gilbert, at a preliminary
meeting, for the reason that he came from Bedford, Westchester county, New
York.

The lake located in the northern part of the township, spelled Ohosecon, on
Farmer's map of Calhoun County, and in the more recent atlas Wabasacon, was
named by the Indians who used to live in the neighborhood.

LAKE ST. MARY.

partially in Bedford and Pennfield townships, received its name from Henry
Willis, who used to reside near its eastern bank.

ANCIENT MOUND.

An Indian fort and mound formerly existed on section 10, near the present
village of Bedford. The fort was elliptical in shape, and in dimensions about
six by four rods. A short distance northeast of the gateway was a well-defined
mound, twenty-five feet in diameter and three feet high. Scarcely any trace of
either remains at the present.

INDIAN VILLAGE.

Prior to and at the time the first white settlers arrived, there existed on sec-
tion 16 a small Indian village, where the " noble red men" (or rather their squaws)
cultivated a small parcel of land, probably about three acres in extent.

THE FIRST BRIDGE

over the Kalamazoo river, in Bedford township, was erected in pursuance of a
vote passed at the first township meeting, in 1839, appropriating two hundred
dollars for that purpose. The contract was let to John Armstrong, and the bridge
was constructed in 1840. It was built of oak timber, hewn, with mud-sills rest-
ing on the bed of the river, running with the stream, and posts mortised, with
caps and stringers reaching from one bent to another. It was planked with oaken
boards, and had a railing on each side.

ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1.

At the first meeting of the school inspectors of Bedford township, held April
18, 1839, Caleb Kirby was elected chairman, and John Meachem served as clerk.
They then proceeded to organize district No. 1, as follows, to wit:

"Beginning at the northeast corner of section No. 1, thence south to the
quarter-line on the east side of said section ; thence south, including the west
half of southwest quarter of section 6 and the west one-half of section 7, in the
township of Emmett, to the southeast corner of section 12, in the township of
Milton ; thence west to the Kalamazoo river ; thence down said river to the east
and west quarter-line of said section 12 ; thence west in said quarter-line to the
west side of section No. 11 ; thence with the town line; thence easterly to the
place of beginning, including the south half of sections Nos. 35 and 36 r in the

township of Bedford.

"John Meachem,
" Caleb Kirby,
"Abraham Lockwood,.

"Board of School Inspectors.
" John Meachem, Township Clerk"

The first and only record of the appointment of teachers in early times is the
subjoined :

"At a meeting of the board of school inspectors, held on the 30 th day of
December, 1843, David Sutton was authorized to teach a school in. district No. 1,
and Aaron Sutton in district No. 3, in the township of Bedford."

The following item is of interest :

" Apportionment of school moneys for the year 1842. Fourteen dollars and
eighty cents to the several districts in the township of Bedford, as follows, — viz. :

Scholars.. Amount

1. Bedford and Pennfield 7 $2.59

2. Johnstown and Bedford 6 2.22

3. Bedford 1? J-JJ

4. Bedford and Ross 10 3 -'°

40 $14.80

196

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

THE FIRST POST-OFFICE

was kept by Erastus R. Wattles, at his house, about one mile north of Bedford
Centre, in section 3, in 1839. The mail was carried on horseback, by a man
named Salter. The route was from Marshall to Hastings, via Verona. A few
years subsequent, the post-office was removed to Bedford Centre, and kept by
John Reynolds, and successively by John Meachem, S. H. Corwin, J. R. Gods-
mark, and at present by J. B. Cookson, and by others at various times, whose
names we did not learn.

The first stage was established by Colonel John Stuart, about 1842. It ran
tri-weekly at first, from Battle Creek to Grand Rapids, and daily from Battle
Creek to Bedford Centre.

BEDFORD CENTRE

was laid out on land owned by Matthias Hutchinson, in the year 1838 or 1839,
who erected a saw-mill there in 1837. He started the village by donating lots to
those who would effect a permanent settlement therein.

The first log house erected was the house in which Mr. Hutchinson boarded
the men who built his mill. This was completed in 1837. It was a primitive
affair, one of the old hewn log structures with a stick chimney. From this time
to 1840 quite a number availed themselves of the inducements offered by Mr.
Hutchinson, but the class of citizens who came in were not of the good, substan-
tial kind calculated to enhance the prosperity of an intended village, consequently
the venture was not a brilliant success. After discontinuing the " free gifts" of
lots, a better class of residents came in, and from about 1842 to 1850 the village
increased in proportion to the surrounding settlements.

In 1842, the first school-house was erected, pursuant to the annexed proceeding
of the inspectors of primary schools :

" Be it remembered that on the 8th day of November, A.D. 1842, we, the un-
dersigned inspectors of primary schools, in the township of Bedford, did ordain
and establish a school district in said township, to be known as School District
No. 6, in the Township of Bedford, County of Calhoun, and State of Michigan,
to be bounded as follows, to wit :

" Sections 9 and 10, and all of section 11, also the north half of sections 14, 15,
and 16, in the township of Bedford ; and we do further order, that the first meet-
ing in said district be held at the house of John P. Ames, on the 16th day of
November, at two p.m. of that day, A.D. 1842.

" Caleb Kirby,
"E. R. Wattles,

" School Iaspectois.

" John Meachem, Township Clerk. 11

THE FIRST CHURCH

regularly organized in the village was the Congregational, June 21, 1848, and
the first sacred edifice was erected by the same denomination in 1855. Immediately
after the provision for intellectual and spiritual culture, however, stores and other
business enterprises were of course established 1

THE FIRST STORE

having been erected by Stephen Gilbert, in 1858, was stocked with a small and
miscellaneous assortment of goods, such as are usually to be found in a general
country store.

Prior to this was erected the first tavern, which was built and kept by Thomas
Jefferson Peabody, as early as 1850, in the house now owned and occupied by
H. M. Marvin as a dwelling. The present hotel was built by Messrs. Avery &
Higley, in 1862, and is now under the proprietorship of Charles Shepard. The
building of the saw- and grist-mills, with other matter pertaining to the history of
them, is severally treated elsewhere.

The first physician who became a resident of Bedford Centre was Henry Wat-
son, M.D., who came in 186-. Previous to this the ailments of the villagers
were attended to by Dr. Doane, who resided for many years on the farm now
owned by C. R. Richtmyer.

The prosperity of the village has been varied and fluctuating. Its business
and material interests are now represented by two dry-goods, two grocery-, one drug-,
and one hardware-store, one saw- and one grist-mill, a wagon-shop, two black-
smithies, a school, a church, one hotel, and a post-office established about 1840,
—John Reynolds first postmaster,— having a daily mail. The village enj oys a daily
stage, connecting it with both Battle Creek and Hastings. The amount of busi-
ness in 1876 aggregated about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

RELIGIOUS.

The first religious body regularly organized in Bedford township was the Con-
gregational society, which was formed June 21, 1848, by the Rev. Mr. Bradley,

in the barn of William T. Hamilton, with twenty-six members, among whom
were Solon Hale and wife, Jacob Demorest and wife, Mrs. H. M. Marvin, Jacob
Bryant and wife, William T. Hamilton and wife, John Hamilton and others.
The succession of ministers, as near as we can ascertain in the absence of the
necessary records, includes the following: Revs. Bushnell, Shaw, Scotford,
Jones, Van Aussen, Fitzmorris, McFarland, Crane, and Sanderson. The present
officers are George Swanson, Henry Mantell, Solon Hale, deacons ; John Gods-
mark, George Swanson, and Jacob Mandy, trustees; Charles Fellowes, clerk;
George Swanson, treasurer. The present membership is seventy-five.

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The first religious meetings held in the township were under the auspices of
the Methodist church, and were held as early as 1838, by Henry Worthington,
but no regular class was formed by him. He was succeeded in the itineracy by
the Fabin brothers, and they by Elder Sapp, who organized a class at Bedford
Centre. About 1850 a circuit was formed consisting of the towns of Pennfield,
Bedford, Assyria, Ross, and Johnstown, under the direction of Rev. R. Sapp,
presiding elder. Rev. Benson was the first circuit-preacher, who has been suc-
ceeded in the work by Revs. M. I. Smith, Lewman Gee, A. E. Gore, J.
Mosher, I. N. Tomes (whose health failing him, a supply was sent in the per-
son of Rev. John A. Banfield), John Hoyt, E. & Chambers, S. W. Chapin,

William Rice, E. H. Day, C. T. Van Antwerp, Hurlbert, S. S. Wilson, A. E.

Ketchum, and the present incumbent, Rev. J. S. Valentine. The official mem-
bers of the charge are : Class-leaders, R. Brunny, H. C. Fisher, J. T. French ;
Trustees, W. T. Dunn, Frank E. Doty, H. H. Mershon, A. C. Styles, C. W.
Moore, R. Brunny, R. Webster, R. Phillips, M. Aldrich, J. C. Lampman, D. B.
Bryant, S. E. Bryant, J. T. French, A. Newton, Charles Turton, and M. Pil-
giner ; Stewards, Frank E. Doty, R. Webster, R. Brunny, C. W. Moore, Mary
King, H. H. Mershon, H. C. Fisher, M. Aldrich, J. T. French ; Sabbath-school
Superintendents, R. Brunny, H. W. Hodges, and S. E. Bryant. The present
membership of the charge (which includes Bedford and Johnstown) is one hun-
dred and twenty ; number of Sabbath-school scholars, ninety. The churches and
Sabbath-schools are all in a flourishing and prosperous condition, owing to the
exertions of the officers and active members.

BEDFORD GRANGE, NO. 65, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY.

The above organization was effected September 2, 1873, by C. L. King, State
deputy, at the residence of E. D. Baright, where they continued to hold their
meetings till in good working order, when they rented the hall over the store of
O. A. Nichols, at Bedford Centre, which they still continue to occupy. The
charter members of this grange were E. C. Manchester, John Stringham, W.
W. Lobdell, J. C. Wiald and wife, E. D. Baright and wife, Job Manley, P.
V. Fiero and wife, George Risbridger and wife, E. Carpenter and wife, C. N.
Fellows, E. Stringham and wife, John Laramy, Wilmot Tagg, Charles String-
ham and wife, Frank Manchester, and Mary Manchester. The first Master elected
at this meeting was E. C. Manchester, who was re-elected at the annual election
in December following, making him the continuous occupant of the Master's
chair for a period of sixteen months. The complement of officers elected at the
first meeting included John Manley, Overseer; W. W. Lobdell, Lecturer; C. N.
Fellows, Steward; C. H. Brown, Assistant Steward; Mrs. E. C. Manchester, Chap-
lain ; J. C. Wiald, Treasurer ; E. D. Baright, Secretary ; P. V. Fiero, Gate-keeper ;
Mrs. H. Wiald, Ceres ; Mrs. C. H. Brown, Flora ; Mrs. W. W. Lobdell, Pomona :
Mrs. E. D. Baright, Lady Assistant Steward. Mr. E. C. Manchester was twice
a delegate to the State grange at its annual session, and Edward White being
Master of the grange was eligible to membership in the State grange, and was
once chosen a delegate to that body. The membership, December 31, 1876, was
eighty-seven. At the last regular meeting the following members were chosen to
fill the various offices for the year 1877 :

M. Burt, Master ; David Anthony, Overseer; E. White, Lecturer ; Job Manley,
Chaplain ; William Fiero, Steward ; George Manley, Assistant Steward ; Horner
Case, Treasurer; Mrs. M. Burt, Secretary; Mrs. A. C. Hall, Ceres; Mrs. J.
Huntley, Flora ; Mrs. George Risbridger, Pomona ; Mrs. George Manley, Lady
Assistant Steward. The grange is in an eminently prosperous condition, and holds
a prominent position among similar organizations in Calhoun County.

FIRST CEMETERY.

The first regularly laid out burying-ground in Bedford township was the one at
Bedford Centre. We quote the following entry in the township records :

" Pursuant to a call of the inhabitants of the township of Bedford made upon
the board of health of said township, said board did on the 3d day of December,
A.D. 1850, select and appropriate to the use and purposes of a place of the dead

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

197

of the said township a parcel of land situated on section 10 of said township,
given for the purpose hy Matthias Hutchinson, of Geneva, Cayuga county, New
York."

MINUTES OF THE SURVEY.

" Beginning at a stake on the quarter line, 59.07 chains north of the quarter-
post, on the south side of section 10, Bedford; running thence north 3° 40" west
on the quarter-line 5.44 chains ; thence north 82° 50" west 3.02 chains ; thence
south 70° 50" west 4.41 chains; thence north 82° 50" west 4.50 chains to the
centre of the highway ; thence south 70° 50" west 97 links ; thence south 82° 50"
east 8.75 chains to the place of beginning, containing 2.02 acres, more or less.

" W. W. Lobdell, Township Clerks

In 1850 a village was laid out in the southern part of the township of Bedford,
and named

HARMONIA,

deriving its name from the fact of the establishment there of the " Bedford Har-
monial Seminary." The Cornells, who had previously resided in Battle Creek,
and been identified with the society of Friends, after becoming Spiritualists, orig-
inated the Harmonial school, and caused to be built quite an extensive establish-
ment for educational purposes, which was located on the south side of the river.
An association of a few families was formed, and the development of the village
looked for a time promising. To add to the brightening prospects, Dr. Haskell
came in from Rockport, Illinois, and made a large purchase, intending to establish
a manual labor school. The whole matter fell through, however, and the site of
the village now consists of cultivated fields, nothing remaining to denote the once
contemplated greatness but the vacant school buildings and a few scattered
dwellings.

HAMBLIN LAKE.

Quite an interesting feature of Bedford township is Hamblin lake, a small
but very lovely sheet of water located on the farm owned by A. C. Hamblin, Esq.,
of Battle Creek, and situated on section 23. Mr. H. has recently stocked this
lake with eighteen thousand fish, of which ten thousand are salmon and eight
thousand white-fish. He intends erecting a summer residence on his place ere
long, and we venture to predict that it will be one of the finest in this part of the
State. It is only three and a half miles from Battle Creek,— just far enough, in
fact, to be enjoyable as a country residence.

TRAGEDIES.

Like all communities where all phases of human nature exist, suicides and
other crimes are sure to be committed. The first person who voluntarily took his
own life was Thomas G. Bird, who hanged himself on a tree in a piece of woods
on section 27. He climbed the body of a bent limb, and put the rope around his
neck and dropped off. This occurred about 1840.

About ten years afterwards, a man by the name of Weed also hanged himself
within eighty rods of the place of the above suicide. Depression of spirits was
the supposed cause in both cases.

An Irishman named Patrick Dunn, who owned a farm upon which he resided,
in Bedford township, killed his wife under shocking circumstances, while return-
ing from Battle Creek, both being intoxicated, in 185-. He was tried, and sen-
tenced to the State prison for twenty years. He was released in 1875, part of his
sentence being commuted on account of exemplary conduct whilst in prison.

We are pleased to acknowledge the courtesies received during the compilation
of the history of Bedford from J. P. Markham, Joseph Godsmark, John Meachem,
Esq., of Battle Creek, H. M. Marvin, Solon Hale, George B. Hamilton, now of
Pennfield, and Mrs. John Godsmark.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

JOHN COX.

John Cox, of Bedford township, was born in Dutchess county, New York,
February 13, 1809. His parents changed their residence to Monroe county,
New York, and he accompanied them, remaining in that county until 1836,
when he emigrated to Michigan, first settling temporarily in Marengo, and then,
in 1837, in Battle Creek, and finally, in 1840, on his present homestead, in Bed-
ford township, where he has since resided. On the 12th of April, 1831, he
married Eleanor, daughter of Jacob Stri ogham, of Dutchess county, New York,
and afterwards a prominent and respected citizen of Bedford township. Mrs.
Cox was born October 7, 1812, and is, consequently, three years her husband's
junior. They have raised a family of seven children, the names and dates of the
births of whom are as follows : Charles J., born July 6, 1832 ; Sarah E., born March
14, 1834 j Eliza J., born July 16, 1837; Matilda A., born in June, 1840, and

died in March, 1842 ; Matilda M., born June 27, 1843, died March 10, 1866 ;
Alice M., born October 27, 1846, died January 3, 1868 ; Eugene J., born March
7, 1855.

Mr. Cox originally bought six hundred acres of land in Bedford, and by selling
in parcels to different parties, his purchase became known as " Cox's settlement."
He deeded some of his children neat little farms, and still possesses two hundred
and seventy-seven acres of well-cultivated land. In politics Mr. Cox is a Repub-
lican. His religious sentiment is embraced in the grand old precept, " Do unto
others as you would they should do unto you." He never joined any particular
religious sect, yet he has always transacted his business honorably, lived temper-
ately, and entertains no fears of the eternal hereafter. He has always lent his
support to all enterprises tending to the welfare of his township ; has been an
obliging neighbor, and is in every respect a citizen of whom any community might
be proud.

198

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

PHOTO. BY CRISPELL.

GEORGE B. HAMILTON,

the subject of this brief sketch, is one of the few remaining pioneers of Bedford
township; and although having recently removed into Pennfield, yet his history
properly belongs to old Bedford, where his early trials and struggles were con-
fined.

George B. Hamilton was born in Cayuga county, New York, January 9, 1816,
and remained there until 1830, when he changed his residence to Wayne county,'
New York, where he continued to live until his removal to Michigan, in 1837.
On the 12th of January of that year he married Miss Angeline E. Lower, who
was bora in Knox county, Ohio, January 8, 1818. While quite young she
moved to Genesee county, New York, and subsequently to Wayne county, where
she met and married her husband.

In June, 1837, they left Wayne county, New York, and started on the long
and tedious journey necessary to bring them to Michigan from the east in those
days. They came by way of Buffalo, thence by lake to Detroit, and from there
by the usual mode of locomotion, by team, 'to Bedford township, and finally settled
on section 5. where they erected their log house, and went to housekeeping for
the first time. Mrs. Hamilton was an excellent housewife, so that things in the
domestic circle went along finely, although, of course, many comforts were lacking
and much hardship was experienced, as is inevitably the case in new settlements.
They had a family of ten children, of whom nine survive. By reference to the
family record we find that they were born and named as follows :

Charles S., born June 10, 1838; Elizabeth A., born May 8, 1840; Mary L.,
born October 3, 1842; Esther A., born December 21, 1844; Electa J., born
January 29, 1847; Willard D., born October 25, 1849; George H., born May
198

16, 1852, died October 9, 1854; William J., born July 29, 1854; Ella A.,
born August 21, 1856 ; Clara M., born October 12, 1862.

Mr. Hamilton was present at and assisted in the organization of Bedford town-
ship, m 1838, and was elected to the office of justice of the peace at the first
annual election of township officers. He retained the position for fifteen years,
serving with eminent satisfaction to all persons. He was impartial in the admin-
istration of justice, and could marry a couple with as much dignity and make the
bond equally as binding as could the best of parsons. There are some yet living
who can attest the truth of the above assertion.

He has always led an industrious and temperate life, and as a result has accu-
mulated by his own exertions, coupled most assuredly with the assistance of his
admirable wife, a fair competence. He now owns two hundred and fifty-four
acres ofland divided as follows: in Bedford, sixty-two and a half acres ; in Ross
township, Kalamazoo county, one hundred and eleven and a half; and in Allegan
county, eighty acres of good timber land.

In politics he is now a Republican, but up to the Free-Soil times was a Jackson
Democrat. In religion himself and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal
church having been united with that body for nearly forty years. He is a liberal
supporter of religious and educational institutions, and never refuses to assist any
laudable enterprise whatever.

In character he is honest and upright ; in disposition kind and charitable ; in

Td a Z7 T rA e0US - He k ^ affeCti ° nate husband - a lo ™S fta«.
and a firm fhend And bexng such, he holds an exalted place in the estimation
of the public, and enjoys the respect of all who know him.

E08TEE OF 80LDIEE8

IN THE

"WAR OF THE REBELLION," FROM CALHOUN" COUNTY.

FIRST MICHIGAN INFANTRY (THREE MONTHS).

Captain Lewis C. Randall. Dead.
Captain James F. Russell.

COMPANY I.
Capt. Deville Hubbard, mustered out August, 1861.
1st lieut. Selden H. Gorham, mustered out and re-enlisted.
2d lieut. Hiram S. Warner, mustered out and re-enlisted.
Orderly sergt. Calviu Colsgrove, color-bearer of regiment at first battle

of Bull Run, and killed there.
Private Fred. Sammons, taken prisoner at Bull Run.
Sergt. Chas. B. Moore, taken prisoner at Bull Run.
Sergt. C. A. Lounsbury, taken prisoner at Bull Run ; thirteen months in

Libby prison and Salisbury. Col. 20th Infantry.
Private H. T. Lane, taken prisoner at Bull Run; in Libby and Salisbury.
Private Wm. V. Mox, taken prisoner at Bull Run.
Private Wm. Smith, taken prisoner at Bull Run.
Sergt. George Keyes, mustered out August, 1861.
Sergt. John Hall, mustered out August, 1861.
Sergt. Abr. Van Gordon, mustered out aud re-enlisted,
Corp. Jerome B. Warner, mustered out aud re-enlisted.
Corp. H. S. Warner, mustered out and re-enlisted.
Corp. J. D. Woolever, mustered out and re-enlisted.
Muse. John Livingston, mustered out.
Muse. Geo. A. Tyler, mustered out.

FIRST MICHIGAN INFANTRY (THREE YEARS).

COMPANY A.
Matthew C. Thomas, discharged for disability May 4, 1862.
Eugene De Wolf, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 17, 1864.

COMPANY B.

0. E. Ford, discharged October 22, 1862.

Titus V. Pierce, died at Philadelphia, Pa., August, 1864, of wounds.
Francis Shu m way, discharged for disability October 26, 1864.
William Tenbrook, discharged for promotion September 27, 1864.
Charles P. Simmons, discharged, expiration of service, August 2, 1864.
Homer L. Johnson, discharged, expiration of service, July 15, 1864.
Julius H. Axtell, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 25, 1863.
David Brown, discharged to re-enlist as veteian December 25, 1863.
Geo. W. Carnford, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 25, 1863.
Henry C. EgglestoD, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 25, 1863.
Riley Harper, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 25, 1863.
Alex. McElroy, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 25, 1863.
Jeremiah Coughlin, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 17, 1864.
William 0. Boughton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 17, 1864.
S. F. Gage, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 17, 1864.
1st lieut. H. S. Warner, promoted capt. December 10, 1861. Resigned.

Transferred to 8th cavalry.
2d lieut. Oliver C. Comstock, promoted 1st lieut. and capt. November,

1861, and killed at , in command of Company K.

COMPANY C.
1st lieut. Lyford Peavey, died at Annapolis Junction November, 1861.
2d lieut. John S. Hatch, promoted 1st lieut. June 27, 1862, discharged

for disability December 17, 18o2.
2d lieut. Wm. S. Woodruff, wounded at Gettysburg, and died of wounds

received in battle June 27, 1864.
Charles B. Moore, discharged at expiration of service Nov. 10, 1863.
Henry Pierce, mustered out July 9, 1865.

COMPANY D.
Samuel Hoyt, discharged June 14, 1862.
Marion W. Skutt, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 17, 1864.

COMPANY E.
1st lieut. Chas. W. Carrick, promoted capt.; mustered out 1865.
William Worth, killed at Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862.
A. Vandyke, promoted lieut. in 12th U. S. Colored Troops.
Aug. T. Engle, died at Alexandria, Va., Sept. 17, 1862, of wounds ree'd.
Daniel Gleason, died of disease, Annapolis, January 14, 1862.
Daniel Howers, djed of disease, Annapolis, January 15, 1862.
Daniel Meuthin, died of disease, Washington, October 1, 1862.
John E. Sibley, died of disease, Mil. Prison, Andersonville, Ga., July

9, 1864.
Henry P. Bliss, discharged for disability April 12, 1862.
Uriah Owens, discharged January 29, 1862.
James O. Shedd, discharged January 21, 1862.
John H. Putnam, discharged.

Edgar Randall, discharged at Philadelphia, December 20, 1862.
Leonard Born, discharged for wounds April 2, 1863.
Monroe Doolittle, discharged, expiration of service, Sept. 12, 1864.
John Engle, discharged, expiration of service, September 16, 1864.

Byron Matthews, discharged for promotion September 25, 1864.
Charles W. Carrick, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 17, 1864.
Benj. Eddy, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 17, 1864.
John E. Armstrong, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 17, 1864.
Henry F. Gilbert, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 17, 1864,

mustered out July 9, 1865.
Jos. G. Eldred, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 17, 1864.
Isaac H. Seaman, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 22, 1864,

killed near Poplar Grove Church, Va., Sept. 20, 1864.
Samuel D. Wilder, mustered out July 9, 1865.
John N. Armstrong, mustered out July 9, 1865.
John S. Gordon, discharged for disability at Annapolis, Md.
Geo. M. Keys, discharged, expiration of service, March 9, 1865.

COMPANY F.
Hiram T. Watkins, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps March 15, 1864.

COMPANY G.
Theophilus Pugh, killed at Bull Run August 30, 1862.
Geo. W. Shaw, died of disability, Bladensburg, Md., Nov. 1, 1861.
James F. Russell, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 24, 1864.
Geo. P. West, discharged, expiration of service, March 7, 1864.
Robt. E. Eldred, mustered out July 9, 1865.
Stepben P. Russell, mustered out July 9, 1865.
Wm. Clark, discharged for disability August 29, 1862.
Elias Farrington, discharged for disability August 29, 1862.
Granville S. Austin, discharged for disability August 29, 186:2.
William Meade, discharged for disability March 1, 1862.

COMPANY H.

Marvin Preston, mustered out May 15, 1865.

Sylvester Feagle, discharged, expiration of service, March 29, 1865.

George Granger, discharged for disability May 11, 1862.

Sandy Morrow, discharged for disability May 25, 1862.

John C. Failing, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps March 15, 1864.

Patrick Moran, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 25, 1863.

Lewis Gillespie, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 17, 1864, mus-
tered out July 9, 1865.

Lucius R. Mills, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 17, 1864, mus-
tered out July 9, 1865.

Eaton Wise, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 17, 1864, mus-
tered out July 9, 1865.

COMPANY K.
Adoniram J. Davis, killed at Bull Run, August 30, 1862.
Martin Perkins, missing at Chickahominy, June 27, 1862.
James R. Cooper, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps March 15, 1864.
Seymour B. Howard, discharged, expiration of service, Sept. 8, 1864.
Hugh Humphrey, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 17, 1864, mus-
tered out July 9, 1865.
Sanford Carr, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps.
John N. Tower, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Sept. 30, 1863.
John Luthols, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps April 16, 1865.

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Adelbert B. Stetson, mustered out June 9, 1865.
Jerome T. Harrington, discharged for disability May 28, 1862.
Joseph G.. Eldred, mustered out July 9, 1865.

BAND.
Norman A. Whitmore, mustered out July 29, 1862.
Henry Beck, mustered out July 29, 1862.
John F. Billings, mustered out July 29, 1862.
Charles Crittenden, mustered out July 29, 1862.
Charles C. Currier, mustered out July 29, 1862.
John Denton, Jr., mustered out July 29, 1862.
Marshall A. Dunham, mustered out July 29, 1862.
Wallace Hunt, mustered out July 29, 1862.
Julius Kennedy, mustered out July 29, 1862.
Oliver Emlay, mustered out July 29, 1862.
James H. Russell, mustered out July 29, 1862.
Orrin N. Sanford, mustered out July 29, 1862.
Barton H. Spencer, mustered out July 29, 1862.
Elon F. Whitmore, mustered out July 29, 1862.
Charles M. Mills, mustered out July 29, 1862.

SECOND MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

COMPANY A.

Surgeon Saml. M. Holton, mustered out with regiment July 28, 1865.
Seth Knowles, died near Petersburg, Va., Jan. 22, 1865, of wounds.
Charles Avison, mustered out June 5, 1865.

COMPANY C.

Capt. Cornelius Byington, promoted maj. July, 1862, died of wounds

December 11, 1863, at Knoxville, Tenn.
1st lieut. Jos. M. Barton, quartermaster, resigned.
2d lieut. Jos. F. Gilman.
Sergt. Geo. W. Freeman, promoted 1st lieut. December, 1861, mustered

out May 25, 1865.
Sergt. Chas. II. Hodskins, promoted 2d lieut. Sept. 22, 1861, 1st lieut. Aug.
25, 1862, capt. Feb. 24, 1863, mustered out June 29, 1865.

Sergt. Chas. R. Galpin, promoted 2d lieut. April 12, 1863, died in action

November 24, 1863, at Knoxville, Tenn.
Corp. John C. Gregg, recommended for promotion, but died before com-
mission was issued.

2d lieut. D. Cameron Morrisson, dismissed.

2d lieut. Stephen A. Sheldon, promoted 1st lieut., discharged at expira-
tion of service June 29, 1864.

Capt. Isaac Perrine, Jr., mustered out with regiment July 28, 1865.

Capt. Timothy R. Fish, mustered out with regiment July 28, 1865.

2d lieut. Chas. H. Risdorph, mustered out with regiment July 28, 1865.

Chas. Palmeter, killed at Baltimore Cross Roads, June 24, 1862.

Daniel E. Mack, killed at Point Lookout, August 29, 1862.

James C. Morton, killed at Georgetown, D. C.

Palmer Pugsley, killed at Alexandria, Va.

Henry L. Dickerson, miss, at Charles City Cross Rds., Va., June 30, 1862.

Benj. C. Kidder, missing at Charles City Cross Roads, Va., June 30, 1862.

Jas. Ethridge, discharged for disability September 30, 1862.

Jerome E. Angell, discharged for disability May 28, 1862.

Wm. A. Wright, discharged April, 1862.

Robt. Bowles, discharged for disability.

Stephen P. Russell, discharged for wounds received.

William Hines, discharged for disability.

George E. Conley, discharged for wounds received.

Abraham Tieres, discharged for disability.

Michael Marion, discharged for disability.

Charles Evans, discharged for being a minor.

John H. Holman, discharged for disability October 2, 1862.

Milton A. Pygall, discharged for disability October 2, 1862.

Jas. M. Barringer, discharged for disability October 2, 1862.

Joseph C. Barnes, discharged for disability October 2, 1862.

Stephen Manchester, discharged fur disability October 2, 1862.

Orville Harris, discharged for disability December 2, 1862.

James H. Brown, discharged for disability December 4, 1862.

Edward N. Hodge, discharged to re-enlist in reg. ser. December 5, 1862.

Cornelius Halstead, died of accidental injuries May 26, 1863.

Austin A. Jones, missing at Jackson, Miss., July 11, 1863.

Albert B. Simpson, missing January 13, 1863.

Clark S. Taylor, discharged for disability, Newport News, Feb. 2, 1863.

Wm. Pygall, disch. for disability, gen. hos. Hampton, March 10. 1863.

Geo. W. Hayes, discharged for disability, Ft. Williams, Va.

James Fray, killed at Knoxville, Tenn., November 24, 1863.

James 0. Moore, died at Knoxville, Tenn., of wounds, November 24, 1863.

Henry E. Van Waert, died at Knoxville, Tenn., of wounds, Dec. 2, 1863.

Myron L. Livingston, died at Knoxville, Term., of wounds, Dec. 27, 1863.

Fenton Kinsley, killed in Wilderness, Va., May 16, 1864.

Wm. F. Whaley, died near Petersburg, Va., of wounds, August 11, 1864.

Dana Bostwick, died at Knoxville, Tenn., of wounds, December 9, 1863.

James Farrand, killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.

Hudson C. Cummings, missing near Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864.

Henry Percy, discharged for disability April 5, 1864.

Chas. D. White, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Saml. M. Holton, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Marcena Burt, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Thomas J. Jones, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Squire Rusner, discharged, expiration of service, June 3, 1864.

Mason C. Adams, discharged, expiration of service, June 21, 1864.

Jas. M. Barringer, discharged, expiration of service, June 21, 1864.

William C. Culver, discharged, expiration of service, June 21, 1864.

Darwin D. Davis, discharged, expiration of service, June 21, 1864.

Alvin Dennison, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Alonzo C. Ide, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

John C. Leonard, discharged, expiration of service, June 3, 1864.

Curtis Lee, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Darwin Moore, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Perry Margo, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Luman G. Mills, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Ransom Poole, discharged, expiration of service, June 3, 1864.

Chas. F. Porter, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Chas. C. Poorman, discharged, expiration of service, June 3, 1864.

John H. Renick, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Albert B. Simpson, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Daniel Tainter, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

Charles Wilson, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

William Flagg, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.

199

200

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Geo. Holland, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.
Timothy R. Fish, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, December 31, 1863.
Isaac Perrin, Jr., transferred t» Vet. Reserve Corps, December 31, 1863.
Joseph C. Baines, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, December 31, 1863,

mustered out July 28, 1865.
Jos. Richardson, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, December 31, 1863,

mustered out July 28, 1865.
Donald Swanson, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, December 31, 1863,

mustered out July 28, 1865.
Robert Sharp, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, December 31, 1863,

mustered out July 28, 1865.
Eugene P. Fish, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, December 31, 1863,

mustered out July 28, 1865.
James E. Simmons, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, December 31, 1863,

mustered out July 28, 1865.
Wm. F. Whaley, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, December 31, 1863.
William Balch, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, December 31, 1863,

mustered out July 28, 1865.
Charles Hume, discharged to re-enlist as a veteran, December 31, 1863.
Geo. M. Connolly, discharged to re-enlist as a veteran, December 31, 1863.
Hudson C. Cumming, discharged to re-enlist as a veteran, Feb. 25, 1864.
William H. Mason, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, September 30, 1863,

mustered out July 28, 1865.
Ephraim B. Marsh, discharged to enl st in reg. service, December, 1862.
Sidney S. Bently, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Abraham Furo, discharged for disability March 7, 1862.
William Harris, discharged for disability March 7, 1862.
Eugene Lewis, discharged at expiration of service, April 10, 1865.
Chas. J. Resdorf, mustered out July 28, 1865.
James Frey, mustered out April 7, 1865.

COMPANY D.
Chas. Harris, discharged for disability May 2, 1864.

COMPANY E.

Francis A. Faster, discharged for disability May 21, 1862.

COMPANY F.
Willis A. Commings, killed at Anderson ville, Ga , July 22, 1864.
William H. Gloss, discharged to re-enlist as veteran, December 31, 1863,
mustered out July 28, 1865.

COMPANY G.
Martin Fisher, killed at Baltimore.

Palmer Shephard, killed at Yorktown, Va., April 21, 1862.
John Dunne, discharged at expiration of service, September 15, 1864.
Hezekiah Smith, discharged at expiration of service, September 12, 1864.
James Nowd, discharged at expiration of service. November 3, 1864.
Darius Van Warring, mustered out July 28, 1865.

COMPANY H.
Robt. R. Betier, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Morris H. Bushnell, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Wm. R. Chadey. mustered out July 28, 1865.
Chas. W. Glinn, mustered out July 28, 1865
Geo. Rhodes, missing July 30, 1864.
Philip Hester, missing July 30, 1864.

COMPANY I.
Kirk P. Allen, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.
Albert Bradly, discharged, expiration of service, July 21, 1864.
Capt. Dwight May, promoted lieutenant-colonel 12th Michigan Inf.
Albert I. Jackett, discharged, expiration of service, June 3, 1864.
John C. Gregg, died of disease, Washington, D. C.
Manning Drake, discharged for disability September 29, 1862.
Lewis D. Fulkerson, discharged for disability September 29, 1862.
John Brown, discharged to enlist as veteran December 31, 1863.
Geo. Waldron, discharged to enlist as veteran December 31, 1863.
Wm; Anderson, discharged to enlist as veteran March 29, 1864.
Henry Voorman, discharged to enlist as veteran March 29, 1864.
Hiram A. Grover, discharged to enlist as veteran February 11, 1864.
Alphonzo E. Dikeman, discharged to enlist as veteran June 20, 1865.
Geo. Waldron, discharged to enlist as veteran July 28, 1865.
Robert A. Babcock, discharged to enlist as veteran July 28, 1865.
Wm. C. Sa Dow, discharged to enlist as veteran May 20, 1865.
.Henry Null, discharged to enlist as veteran*May 17, 1865.
F. 0. Breast, discharged to enlist as veterau July 28, 1865.
Bradley Waterman, discharged to enlist as veteran July 28, 1865.
Levi Reeves, discharged to enlist as veteran July 28, 1865.
Peter C. Hunt, discharged to enlist as veteran July 27, 1865.
Jas. H. Hathaway, discharged to enlist as veteran July 28, 1865.
Geo. W. Nichols, discharged to enlist as veteran July 28, 1865.

COMPANY K.

John C. Vass, discharged for disability, February 28, 1865.

Nelson Gardner, discharged November 29, 1864, for wounds.

Jonathan H. Olney, mustered out July 28, 1865.

James Oldacker, mustered out July 28, 1865.

Albert Riley, mustered out July 28, 1865.

John P. Riley, mustered out July 28, 1865.

Isaiah Wise, mustered out July 28, 1865.

Capt. Chas. S. May, resigned September 22, 1861.

F0UBTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.
COMPANY A.
John Daley, discharged, expiration of service, January 20, 1866.

COMPANY C.
Alva Ketchem, discharged, expiration of service, June 29, 1864.
Oliver Vanzant, discharged, expiration of service, June 29, 1864.
Orson Davis, killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.

COMPANY D.
Jas. A. Wright, discharged to enlist as veteran December 29, 1863, trans-
ferred to new 4th Infantry, June 28, 1865.

COMPANY E.
Jacob Perine, mustered out June 5, 1865.
Daniel Hopkins, mustered out February 23, 1866.

COMPANY G.
Chas. Burrows, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, July 1, 1863.

COMPANY I.
Thomas Hogan, killed at Mechanicsville, Va., June 26, 1862.
Orlando Craig, died December 15, 1862, of wounds received.
John Hyndell, died of disease, at Gaines 1 Mill, June 27, 1862.
Joseph Darrow, discharged for disability November 21, 1862.
John Hindall, discharged for disability August 15, 1863.
Geo. E. Lovett, discharged at expiration of service, June 30, 1864.

COMPANY K.

Moses S. Tuttle, discharged for disability July 10, 1862.
Chas. W. Robinson, mustered out May 26, 1866.
Chas E. Allen, mustered out May 26, 1866.

FIFTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

COMPANY D.
Geo. Chandler, discharged at expiration of service, January 5, 1863.

COMPANY H.
Charles Scott, mustered out July 5, 1865.

SIXTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

Asst. Surgeon S. S.French, promoted to Surgeon 20th Infantry.
Capt. Charles E. Clark, Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Colonel, mus-
tered out with regiment.
Lieut. W. W. Thayer.
Surgeon Milton Chase.
Lieut. Richard R. Thayer.
Lieut. Arthur H. Dayley.
Lieut. Sam'l M. Durand.

COMPANY A.

Clark Boone, killed at New Orleans, May 24, 1862.

Sidney Preston, killed at Camp Williams, October 14, 1862.

Isaac P. Greenleaf, died of disease at Baton Rouge, La., June 11, 1862.

Benjamin Jenkins, died of disease in Regt. Hospital October 7, 1862.

Jebery Barley, died of disease at Camp Williams, October 14, 1862.

Edward Nichols, died of disease in Regt. Hospital, November 28, 1862.

Thomas J. Abbott, died of disease October 27, 1862.

Chas. H. Lassing, died of disease December 22, 1862.

Daniel E. Martin, discharged for disability January 22, 1862.

Benj. F. Thompson, discharged for disability October 21, 1862.

Andrew J. Baits, di- charged to re-enlist in reg. ser. November 12, 1862.

John Reynolds, discharged to re-enlist in reg. ser. November 12, 1862.

Joel Hoag, discharged to re-enlist in reg. ser. November 14, 1862.

James M. Gould, discharged to re-enlist in reg. ser. November 14, 1862.

Isaac H. Moore, discharged to re-enlist in reg. ser. November 15, 1862.

Franklin Greenleaf, died of disease at Port Hudson, August 22, 1863.

Delos Hutching, discharged by order, August 28, 1863.

Garner Lilly, died of disease at Port Hudson, La., May 21, 1864.

N. Cross, died of disease at Morganza, La., June 15, 1864.

Freeman E. Woods, discharged by order March 14, 1864.

Wm. Christie, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.

Henry Krowe, discharged at expiration of service, August 23, 1864.

West W. McKinne, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.

Geo. Vessey, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.

John H. Moore, discharged to re- enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,

mustered out August 20, 1865.
Ulysses Case, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.
Abram W. Cassady, discharged to enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.
Edwin" H. Fish, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,

mustered out August 20, 1865.
Hiram Lobdell, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.
Seymour Lyon, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.
Peter C. Minor, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.
Gardner Odell, died of disease, Fort Morgan, Ala., October 23, 1884.
John H. McGraw, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,

mustered out August 20, 1865.
James E. Root, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,

mustered out August 20, 1865.
Daniel W. Root, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,
mustered out August 20, 1865.

Peter E. Minor, died of disease, New Orleans, La., November 6, 1864.

Palmer Patron, died of disease, Fort Morgan, Ala., December 12, 1864.

Ira D. Horton, died of disease, Fort Gaines, Ala., December 1, 1864.

Nathaniel Cross, died of disease, Morganza, La., June 15, 1864.

Charles Kennie, discharged by order, May 3, 1865.

Charles Cooper, discharged by order, July 22, 1865.

Patrick Taffy, discharged by order, July 22, 1865.

Andrew Jones, discharged for disability November 10, 1864.

Chas. L. Martins, discharged at expiration of service May 15, 1865.

Joseph Y. Steward, dischai ged for disability June 3, 1865.

Samuel I. Winton, mustered out August 20, 1865.

William W. Hotchkiss, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Charles C. Huggett, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Hiram Lobdell, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Nathan Lunt, mustered out August 20, 1865.

George W. Miller, mustered out August 20, 1865.

George W. Morley, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Charles McEgan, mustered out August 20, 1865.

John McKaskell, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Hugh S P. Oatman, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Aaron L. Rand, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Andrew Jones, mustered out November 10, 1864.

Charles Kinney, discharged by order, May 15, 1865.

COMPANY B.

Frank Conner, discharged by order August 23, 1865.
Leroy Warden, discharged for disability July 23, 1865.

Asahel A. Clark, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Philip Vanbrocklin, discharged to enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.

COMPANY C.

Warren Mead, died of disease, Fort Gaines, Alabama, August 17, 1864.

Frank Main, died of disease, Fort Gaines, Alabama, September 29, 1864.

Silas Short, mustered out May 3, 1865.

William Short, mustered out May 3, 1865.

Philander B. Hoyt, discharged for disability May 2, 1865.

Jos. H. Hobbs, discharged by order May 27, 1865.

Lafayette Hume, discharged by order September 5, 1865.

David H. Chase, mustered ©ut August 20, 1865.

William F. Davison, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Daniel Deemer, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Ezra Florence, discharged by order September 13, 1865.

COMPANY D.
Frank Connor, discharged by order August 22, 1865.
Benj. Dennison, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Orville Meachem, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Francis Welton, mustered out August 20, 1865.
William Westcott, mustered out August 20, 1865.
William D. Lane, discharged for disability August 1, 1865.
Daniel W. Croggins, died of disease, Port Hudson, June 3, 1864.
Benj. Denburgh, died of disease, Fort Morgan, Ala., September 21, 1864.

COMPANY E.

Capt. James Winters, resigned October 9, 1861.

1st lieut. Sylvester Cogswell, promoted capt. and major, and hon. dis-
charged.
2d lieut. Chas. Heine, promoted 1st lieut., discharged.
Ord. serj. W. H. Dickey, promoted 2d lieut. and 1st lieut.; col. of 12th

U. S. Colored troops.
Oscar Amy, discharged April 13, 1862.
Alexander Btrfield, discharges at Baltimore June 10, 1862.
Lyman Burton, discharged at Baton Rouge June 30, 1862.
Stephen Cooper, discharged at Kalamazoo, Michigan, August 30, 1861.
Harvey W. Davis, discharged at Baltimore January 10, 1862.
Henry B. Richer, discharged at Baltimore January 29, 1862.
Lawrence Rickey, discharged for disability August 1, 1862.
Reuben Waggoner, discharged for disability August 1, 1862.
Perry L. Hills, discharged for disability August 31, 1862.
Sergt. Isaac W. Wilder, discharged for disability October 20, 1862.
Corp. George N. Raymond, discharged for disability October 25, 1862.
Corp. Stanley C. Brooks, discharged lor disability October 15, 1862.
Sergt. Seymour W. Davis, discharged for disability October 15, 1862.
Rush H. Merrill, discharged for disability October 15, 1862.
Christopher Hoag, discharged for disability October 15, 1862.
Alvah Reardon, discharged for disability October 15, 1862.
Stephen Smith, discharged for disability October 15, 1862.
Hoyt Henshaw, discharged for disability October 25, 1862.
George Hammond, discharged for disability October 25, 1862.
Edwin Rogers, dischai ged for disability October 22, 1862.
Charles Fish, discharged at expiration of service, March 2, 1865.
Moses Stewart, mustered out August 20, 1865.
William H. Miller, mustered out August 20, 1865.
William Ketchum, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Anson Ritchey, discharged by order June 16, 1865.
William H. Heath, discharged for disability November 10, 1864.
Henry W. West, discharged for disability March 5, 1866.
George W. Watson, discharged for disability October 6, 1864.
Henry P. Bliss, discharged for disabilityMune 8, 1865.
Oscar S. Burgess, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Peter W. Conright, mustered out August 20, 1865.
George D. Cleveland, mustered out August 20, 1865.
George W. Delabar, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Ashuram Gillespie, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Charles H. Hewitt, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Thomas Kelley, mustered out August 20, 1865.
John C. Lamb, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Thomas Lowe, mustered out August 20, 1865.
John Haskell, killed at Baton Rouge August 5, 1862.
John Livingston, died of disease at Baton Rouge, July 20, 1862.

Myron Bennett, died of disease, Burlington, Mich., February 10, 1862.

William Allen, died of disease, Ship Island, March 30, 1862.

Robt. D. Cooville, died of disease, Drummondstown, Va., Nov. 20, 1861.

Nathan Sechler, died of disease, Baltimore, Bid., November 10, 1861.

David W. Seabolt, died of disease, Baltimore, Md., January 24, 186z.

Lewis Blackman, died of disease, Baton Rouge, August 6, 1862.

Peter Smith, died of disease, New Orleans, August 17, 1862.

Peter Lazarous, died of disease, Baton Rouge, August 3, 1862.

Jeuue Harrison, died of disease, Camp Williams, October 10, 1862.

Nelson Paul, died of disease, Carrollton, November 15, 1862.

William F. Sweet, died of disease, Carrollton, December 26, 1862.

Sergt. Charles H. Watson, died of disease on gun-boat " Weehawken,"
May 2, 1862.

John W. Griffith, died of disease, Ship Island, Miss., March 20, 1862.

Peter Hinckley, died of disease, Carrollton, La., September 1, 1862.

Mathias Kunz, died of disease, Carrollton, La., March 21, 1863.

Chas. Kappes, drowned at Shipworth's Landing, July 25, 1864.

William D. Cleft, died of disease, Montgomery, Ala., April 30, 1864.

George Moore, died of disease, Fort Gaines, Ala., February 10, 1865.

Cephas Dalvord, died of disease, Fort Gaines, Ala., December 14, 1864.

Philip Z. Sunrer, died of disease, Charlotte, Mich., November 25, 1864.

John Voddin, died of disease, Marshall, Mich., November 28, 1864.

Frederick Prior, died of disease, Greenville, La., July 25, 1865.

William L. M. Beon, died of disease, Vicksburg, Miss., Aug. 23, 1864.

Martin Chipps, died of disease, New Orleans, La., June 11, 1864.

William H. Rickey, died of disease, Florence, S. C, Nov. 18, 1864.

George Blashfield, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.

William H. Gordeu, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,
mustered out August 20, 1865.

William H. George, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,
mustered out August 20, 1865.

HISTOEY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

201

Corp. Frank B. Knouse, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1,
1864, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Jos. Maginn, discharged to re-eulist as veteran February 1, 1864,
mustered out August 20, 1865.

Michael McKinney, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 1, 1864.

George Plant, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864, mus-
tered out August 20, 1865.

Edwin B. Parrott, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,
mustered out August 20, 1865.

Freeman Upham, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,
mustered out August 20, 1865.

Joseph P. Walters, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.

Edward Upham, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.

William M. Kelley, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,
discharged for disability April 26, 1865.

Corp. Samuel M. Durand, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 1, 1864.

George Collins, Jr., discharged to re-enlist as veteran Februaiy 1, 1864,
mustered out August 20, 1865.

Henry Rhodes, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,
mustered out August 20, 1865.

Harvey S. Howard, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Feb. 1, 1864,
discharged by order July 12, 1865.

Jacob Smith, discharged, to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864, mus-
tered out August 20, 1865.

Daniel Fero, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.

James R. Johnson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,
discharged by order September 5, 1865.

Wm. Rapsher, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864, mus-
tered out August 20, 1865.

Jacob Urwiller, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,
mustered out August 20, 1865.

William Hogue, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,
mustered out August 20, 1865.

John Austin, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864, mus-
tered out August 20, 1865.

James W. Jackson, discharged for disability November 15, 1863.

Charles Carpenter, discharged for disability November 15, 1863.

Corp. Frederick Buck, promoted 2d lieut. September 1, 1863, 1st lieut.
July 20, 1864; discharged by order Nov. 1, 1863 ; wounded.

Charles Maldrett, discharged by order March 1, 1864.

Augustus S. Austin, discharged by order March 24, 1864.

Charles E. Hills, discharged for disability June 23, 1864.

George A. Welton, discharged for disability January 10, 1864.

Peleg Sherman, discharged for disability January 30, 1864.

W. B. Blashfield, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.

Irvin W. Amy, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.

John Burnham, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.

Corp. Homer H. Olds, discharged at expiration of service Aug. 23, 1864.

Robert Pierce, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.

Ira Watson, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.

Rolla Carpenter, discharged at expiration of service Aug. 23, 1864.

Cyrus Smith, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.

William H. Richey, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.

George W. Smith, discharged by order March 2, 1864.

Charles J. Pryor, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Corp. Homer Hadsill, discharged for disability October 22, 1862.

Uphasson Mix, discharged for disability October 22, 1862.

Corp. Henry Bostock, killed at Port Hudson, Louisiana, June 30, 1863.

Corp. John Carnes, died of disease at Carrollton, Louisiana, July 7, 1863.

Jerome Morgan, discharged for disability September 18, 1863.

Sergt. William Leinnie, discharged by order August 13, 1863.

Charles Brownwell, discharged for disability February 10, 1863.

Otis Conant, discharged for disability February 10, 1863.

Thomas Schofleld, discharged for disability February 17, 1863.

William V. Cryderman, discharged for disability January 5, 1863.

Lot F. Barnes, discharged for disability January 5, 1863.

Loren Haze, died of disease, Port Hudson, Loui iana, November 14, 1863.

Richard Austin, died of disease, Port Hudson, La., November 18, 1863.

David Amy, died of disease, Port Hudson, La., November 24, 1863.

Joseph S. Walters, died of disease, Marengo, Michigan, April 16, 1861.

Albert Carpenter, died of disease, Vicksburg, Mississippi, July 9, 1864.

Cyrus Smith, died of disease in military prison, Andersonville, Georgia,
June 26, 1861.

Michael McKenna, drowned at St. Charles, July 30, 1864.

William L. Bowen, died of disease, Yicksburg, Miss., August 23, 1864.

Josiah Smith, missing.

COMPANY F.

Alfred E. Day, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1,1864.

William Kerr, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.

Alfred Doy, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Daniel B. Ware, discharged by order September 4, 1865.

Frank L. C. Rising, discharged by order October 5, 1865.

Marian Mead, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Edmund Tripp, mustered out August 20, 1865.

James E. Van Voorhies, mustered out August 20, 1865.

John Colin, discharged for disability January 16, 1862.

Lorenzo Dolbee, discharged for disability October 6, 1861.

Hiram B. Kerr, discharged for disability October 15, 1862.

Eli Decker, discharged for disability October 20, 1862.

Isaac Randall, discharged for disability October 20, 1862.

COMPANY G.
John O. Lamb, died of disease, Fort Gaines, Alabama, August 20, 1864.
James F. Kaufman, died of disease, Fort Morgan, Ala., September 28, 1864.
Lyman Beers, died of disease, New Orleans, Louisiana, September 3, 1864.
James Quick, died of disease, New Orleans, Louisiana, September 3, 1864.
Artemus Bishop, died of disease, New Orleans, Louisiana, October 18, 1864.
John Brennenstuhl, died of disease, Fort Gaines, Ala., October 9, 1864.
William Bingham, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Louis R. Williams, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Jesse W. West, mustered out August 20, 1865.

COMPANY I.

Capt. Harrison Soule, promoted major and mustered out.
1st lieut. Henry A. Harris, discharged.

26

2d lieut. Patrick H. Lawler, promoted 1st lieut. December 1,1862; capt.

August 12, 1864 ; mustered out.
1st lieut. Chas. A. Ralph.

2d lieut. Chas. S. Fassett, promoted capt., mustered out August 20, 1865.
2d lieut. Geo. H. Smith, mustered out November 22, 1865.
Charles Fish, discharged for disability February 24, 1863.
George F. Robinson, discharged by order September 7, 1863.
Barney Swope, discharged for disability September 18, 1863.
Henry H. Bascom, discharged by order October 1, 1863.
Edwin J. Babcock, discharged, Fort Gaines, Ala., October 7, 1864.
H. W. Childs, died of disease, New Orleans, La., October 7, 1864.
Samuel Davis, discharged for disability, October 16, 1862.
Andrew J. Chatterton, discharged for disability October 16, 1862.
J. B. Lathrop, discharged for disability October 16, 1862.
Levi B. Sibley, discharged for disability October 16, 1862.
Charles H. Wilson, discharged for disability October 16, 1862.
James M. Smalley, discharged for disability November 1, 1862.
T. B. Stoddard, discharged for disability, November 5, 1862.
Sylvester Parker, discharged to enter regular service, December 1, 1862.
Edward Waldron, discharged to enter regular service, December 1, 1862
William Wise, discharged to enter regular service, December 1, 1862.
Charles Lemunian, discharged to enter regular service, Dec. 8, 1862.
Willis W. Benham, died of disease, at Carrollton, La., February 28,1863
Chester Scott, died of disease at Port Hudson, La., August 9, 1863.
David Hopson, died of disease at Port Hudson, La., August 12, 1863.
Alva S. Dodd, died of disease at Port Hudson, La., August 14, 18t3.
Wilbur F. Spaulding, died of disease, Marshall, Mich., Nov. 6, 1864.
John Yetter, died of disease at Fort Gaines, Ala., October 20, 1864.
Jabez Brownell, died of disease at Jackson, Mich., October 4, 1864.
James Haney, died of disease at New Orleans, La., October 24, 1864.
John Smith, died of disease at New Orleans, La., September 10, 1864.
George H. Smith, discharged to re-enlist as veteran, February 1, 1864.
William J. Burgess, mustered out as 2d lieut. with regt., Feb 1, 1864.
Arthur D. Strickland, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,

mustered out August 20, 1865.
Edward V. Esmund, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.
Lewis H. Dauforth, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.
James F. Devoe, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,

mustered out August 20, 1865.
Levi C. Darman, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.
Francis C. Ray, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,

mustered out August 20, 1865.
Marcus C. Huntley, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864.
Reuben C. Ribley, discharged to re-enlist as vetei an February 1, 1864.
Marvin Butler, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864,

mustered out August 20, 1865.
John F. Avery, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 1, 1864

mustered out August 20, 1865.
Seymour Gay, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.
Charles Donovan, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.
Sherman Ansley, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.
Perry H. Ferguson, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.
George Harris, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.
Emory Lamb, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.
John Conray, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.
Walter D. Chandler, discharged at expiration of service August 19, 1864.
Walter Courtright, discharged at expiration of service August 26, 1864.
Samuel Glasglow, discharged for disability November 20, 1863.
Alonzo E. Pickett, discharged for disability.
John C. Squires, discharged for disability June 13, 1863.
John Conroy, discharged for disability June 22, 1864.
D. Walter, discharged for disability.

Noah Wetherill, discharged at expiration of service April 11, 1864.
Willet C. Tompkins, discharged at expiration of service August 23,1864.
Charles Colestock, discharged at expiration of service August 23, 1864.
Reuben C. Sibley, discharged by order September 2, 1865.
George Weeden, discharged by order September 2, 1865.
Nelson F. Dyer, discharged by order September 2, 1865.
Frank Barber, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Franklin A. Doak, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Norn's M. Ford, mustered out August 20, 1865.
John W. Ford, mustered out August 20, 1865.
John D. Garland, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Geo. L. Hoisington, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Silas W. Hadden, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Judson Morgan, mustered out August 20, 1865.
John Mack, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Charles F. Preston, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Oscar M. Pierce, mustered out August 20, 1865.
William H. Rice, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Quincy L. Taylor, mustered out August 20, 1865.
David Coggins, mustered out August 20, 1865.

Orange A. Avery, discharged to re-enlist in regular army Jan. 28, 1863.
Joseph Brunger, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Levi C. Dorman, mustered out August 20, 1865.
James E. Doak, discharged for disability May 22, 1865.
Marcus 0. Huntley, mustered out August 20, 1865.
Charles W. Hickley, discharged for disability February 8, 1865.
Henry Hickley, discharged by order July 22, 1865.
Andrew J. Miller, discharged by expiration of service, Sept. 16, 1865.
Amos Avery, discharged for disability February 8, 1865.
Augustus W. Larabee, discharged by order July 22, 1865.
Jabez Bills, discharged by order July 22, 1865.
Amos Ford, mustered out August 20, 1865.
David R. Kirby, discharged by order May 15, 1865.
Daniel W. Huffman, discharged by order January 20, 1865.
Geo. Phelps, discharged by order August 29, 1865.
Oh ster L. Dickerson, discharged by order September 9, 1865.
Edward M. Gibson, died of dis. at steamer off Ship Island, Mar. 15, 1862-
George W. Moore, died of disease, Baton Rouge, La , July 13, 1862.
Henry Baum, died of disease, New Orleans, La , October 1, 1862.
Jabez B. Piper, killed at Baton Rouge, La., August 5, 1862.
William H. McNeil, killed at Baton Rouge August 5, 1862.
Robert E. Moore, killed at Baton Rouge August 5, 1862.
William G. Shinnick, killed at Baton Rouge August 5, 1862.

George Waterman, killed at Baton Rouge August 5, 1862.
George W. Hoaglin, died August 7, 1862, of wounds.
Andrew Klinesmith, died August 6, 1862, of wounds.
Stephen Griffin, killed August 12, 1862, at Baton Rouge.

COMPANY K.
John Norton, discharged for disability December 11, 1862.

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Joseph H. Weeks, mustered out August 20, 1865.

BAND.

John Banta, discharged by order September .0, 1861.

SEVENTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

COMPANY I.
Priv. Eleazar Wilcox, discharged for disability.
Priv. Robt. Wilcox, discharged by order August 11, 1863.
David Wilcox, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 18, 1863.
Henry Clump, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 18, 1863.
David J. Oatman, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 18, 1863.
George W. Oatman, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 18, 1863.
Wm. P. Oatman, died of disease.
Phineas Carter, discharged March 1, 1863.
David D. Riley, discharged November 14, 1862.

COMPANY K.
John Cullen, killed at Cold Harbor, Va., May 31, 1864.
Thos. Knapp, discharged by order July 24, 1865.

EIGHTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.
COMPANY A.

Geo. W. Rail, mustered out July 30, 1865.

Thos. Miller, discharged at expiration of service, January 21, 1865.

Wm. Miller, discharged at expiration of service from Y. R. C, February

27, 1865.

COMPANY 0.

Geo. W. Robinson, mustered out July 30, 1865.

COMPANY E.

Jabez B. Elkins, mustered out July 30, 1865.
John E. Shuts, discharged by order June 24, 1865.
Albert Blood, mustered out July 30, 1865.

COMPANY F.

John W. Wagoner, discharged by order August 12, 1865.

COMPANY H.

Jos. Needham, mustered out July 30, 1865.

NINTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

COMPANY A.

Surgeon Ennis Church, transferred to 26th Infantry as surgeon.
Jarvis M. Griffin, died of disease, Chattanooga, March 30, 1865.
Chauncy Dennison, died of disease, Nashville, Tenn., May 27, 1865.
William Pointer, discharged by order August 19, 1865.
Philip D. Bissel, discharged by order June 20, 1865.
Russell Pierce, mustered out September 15, 1865.

COMPANY B.

Philander Yan Brunt, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Charles Fountain, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Abraham Cushman, mustered out Sept mber 15, 1865.

George F. Bennett, mustered out September 15, 1865.

John H. Eldred, discharged by order August 14, 1865.

John H. Brichart, discharged by order July 24, 1865.

Claude E. Whitlock, died of disease, Chattanooga, Tenn., Jan. 28, 1865.

William A. Walker, mustered out June 20, 1865.

Geo. Collins, mustered out June 20, 1865.

Josiah Conquest, mustered out June 20, 1865.

Geo. W. Sheppard, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Peter Benley, mustered out September 15, 1F65.

Hezekiah Cummings, discharged by order August 10, 1865.

COMPANY C.
Frank Bristol, mustered out September 15, 1865.
John Smith, mustered out September 15, 1865.
William Fenton, mustered out June 20, 1865.
William H. Cemfort, mustered out June 20, 1865.
Henry Sheik, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Henry Bishop, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Amos L; Bringham, mustered out June 20, 1865.
Norman Lever, mustered out September 15, 1865.

COMPANY D.

Geo. Dunham, killed at Chattanooga, Tenn., February 12, 1864

Sylvester Membrough, killed at Chattanooga, Tenn., March 7, 1864.

Harvey Latten, d'scharged by order May 17, 1865.

William Mayo, mustered out September 15, 1865.

John Miller, mustered out August 10, 1865.

Enoch Reynolds, discharged by order September 28, 1865.

James R. Tilton, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Charles E. Hilton, discharged by order, June 20, 1865.

Francis Needham, discharged by order June 20, 1865.

Jay Morse, discharged by order May 16, 1865.

Jason Morse, discharged by order June 20, 1865.

John Waters, mustered out September 15, 1865.

John L. Storrs, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Robert Nichols, discharged by order May 17, 1865.

202

HISTOKY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Andrew J. Hannah, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Martin M. Barney, mustered out September 15, 1805.

James W. Hatch, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Ransom Bailey, died of disease, Chattanooga, Tenn., January 28, 18G5.

Charles Butler, died of disease, Nashville, Tenn., December 17, 1804.

John Smith, died of disease, Chattanooga, Tenn., March 15, 1865.

COMPANY E.
Byron Wooden, mustered out September 15, 1805.
Levi Bachman, mustered out September 15, 1805.
Edgar Hamilton, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Hiram Lewis, discharged by order August 3, 1865.
Henry M. Blodgett, discharged by order June 20, 1865.
Jonah D. Wright, discharged by order June '20, 1865.
Asa A. Webster, mustered out September 15, 1865.
William Stephens, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Charles Colton, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Joseph Phillips, discharged by order September 28, 1865.
Kirk Vemeuer, mustered out September 15, 1803.
John Young, died of diseas •, Bowling Green, Ky., October 9, 1862.

COMPANY F.

1st lieut. S. S. Bangs, promoted capt. April 1, 1802, mustered out at end
of term.

2d lieut. Ephraim Marble, promoted capt. August 2, 1803, resigned Sep-
tember 14, 1804.

2d lieut. S. S. Barrows, promoted 1st. lieut.; capt. July 27, 1802, Co. E,
mustered out.

Sergt. G. A. Baugham, promoted 2d lieut. October 20, 1803; 1st lieut.,
mustered out.

Sergt. J. D. Hyde, promoted 2d lieut. September 22, 1804; adjut., mus-
tered out.

Sergt. Jacob Carris, promoted 1st lieut.; capt., mustered out.

Lorenzo F. Clark, mustered out September 15, 1805.

Anson Belden, mustered out September 15, 1805.

Horace S. Chapin, mustered out September 15, 1805.

Stephen A. Crane, mustered out September 15, 1805.

George A. Dubeck, mustered out September 15, 1805.

Einmett McNutt, discharged by order September 11, 1805.

Albert Sinder, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Emanuel E. Tiech, mustered out September 15, 1805.

George Baker, mustered out September 15, 1805.

Henry Butler, mustered out September 15, 1805.

William Butler, di?charged by order August 2, 1805.

Oren W. Giler, mustered out September 15, 1805.

Albert G. Griffith, discharged by order September 30, 1865.

Albert Johnson, mustered out September 15, 1805.

Frederick Norman, mustered out September 15, 1865.

William D. Storrs, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Hiram F. Baugham, discharged by order June 20, 1865.

Patrick Nevins, discharged by order June 20, 1865.

Herman E. Newton, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Lorant Vanzant, mustered out August 10, 1865.

Arthur Nevins, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Benjamin Woundell, died of disease, Louisville, Ky., July 17, 1865.

Newton D. Hadden, died of disease, Elizabethtown, Ky., Feb. 8, 1862.

John A. Ackley, died of disease, Murfreesboro', Tenn., May 27, 1862.

Hozile Baker, died of disease, Louisville, Ky., April 30, 1862.

Nathan Bartan, discharged for disability February 28, 1862.

Charles Burns, discharged for disability April 17, 1862.

William Snyder, discharged for disability April 17, 1862.

Henry Baker, discharged for disability, December 14, 1862.

James Clark, discharged for disability December 14, 1862.

William W. Wines, discharged for disability December 14, 1862.

John E. Richardson, discharged for disability August 9, 1862.

Clark H. Short, discharged for diseas? May 11, 1864.

Lorenzo T. Clark, discharged to re-enlist as veteran November 28, 1863.

Anson Belden, discharged to re-enlist as veteran November 3, 1863.

Elijah Con ley, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Horace S. Chapin, discharged to re-enlist as veteran November 3, 1863.

George R. Elm*, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

William V. Giles, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863,
mustered out September 15, 1865.

Martin Miller, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863, dis-
charged by order August 1, 1865.

Garrett McNutt, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Charles E. Rhodes, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

John Sine, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863, dis-
charged by order September 29, 1865.

Henry Sine, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863, mus-
tered out September 15, lfe65.

Emanuel E. Tieck, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Robert C. Williams, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863,
mustered out September 15, 1865.

George Graham, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Dennis F. Lusk, discharged to re- enlist as veteran December 7, 1863,
mustered out September 15, 1865.

Arthur Hathaway, discharged to re-enlist as veteran November 28, 1863.

Jacob Carris, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 21, 1864.

George H. Baugham, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 21, 1864.

COMPANY G.
Edward S. Ackers, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.
Henry Bordinus, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.
Peter Bohn, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.
Isaac Coleman, discbarged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.
Anthony Chapaton, discharged to re-enlist as veterau December 7, 1863.
Andrew Demurest, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.
William Eberhard, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.
Jesse Fortier, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.
William Krapohl, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.
David Lagauesse, discharged to re-enlist as veteran November 11, 1863.
Frederick Lantz, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.
Andrew Nupher, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.
Robert Peels, discharged to re-enl-st as veteran December 7, 1863.

John Ross, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Levi W. Sprague, discharged to re-enl.'st as veteran December 7, 1863.

Barlow Smith, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Benhard Schlectring, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Arthur B. Wbipple, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Henry Washington, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

John Wonsey, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Charles H. Yates, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Dennis Glackin, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Henry C. Kenyon, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Francis McGunkle, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 7, 1863.

Isaac Widner, discharged to re-enlist as veteran November 3, 1863.

Daniel G. Parker, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.

Cbarles M. Brand, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 9, 1863.

Oliver C. Starks, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., April 13, 1863.

James Witherell, died of disease at Chattanooga, Tenn., March 3, 1865.

William P. Shun", died of disease at Chattanooga, Tenn., Feb. 22, 1865.

George A. Cady, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., July 4, 1865.

Randall Cartright, discharged by order June 2<>, 1865.

Alex. Cartright, discharged by order June 20, 1865.

John Eastman, Jr., discharged by order June 20, 1805.

George F. Kecher, discharged by order June 20, 1805.

Robert Moore, discharged by order June 20, 1805.

Leander Manchester, discharged by order June 20, 1805.

Aaron E. Kocher, discharged by order June 20, 1805.

George Nichols, discharged by order June 20, 1865.

Lorenzo Novis, discharged by order May 0, 1805.

James L. Pratt, discharged by order June 20, 1805.

George C. Becker, discharged by order June 20, 1805.

Albert C. Sellick, discharged by order June 20, 1805.

Melvin J. Starks, discharged by order June 20, 1805.

Nelson W. Southworth, discharged by order June '20, 1^65.

Samuel G. Bennett, discharged by order September 28, 1805.

Eli Moore, mustered out September 15, 1805.

Theron Phelps, mustered out September 15, 1805.

Abediah Johnson, mustered out September 15, 1805.

John W. King, discharged by order September 28, 1865.

Cassius M. King, discharged for disability August 6,1865.

Jerome Knickerbocker, discharged by order July 19, 1865.

Cbarles S. Fish, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Warren Newton, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Alexander Clark, mustered out September 15, 1865.

Martin Bolles, mustered out August 31, 1865.

William Todwell, mustered out August 17, 1865.

Emmett H. Brower, discharged by order August 25, 1865.

COMPANY H.
Joseph Stephens, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Joseph Beck, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Robt. W. Diver, died of disease, Marshall, Mich., April 10, 1865.
Alfred W. Lumm, accidentally drowned at Chattanooga, Tenn., Decem-
ber 22, 1864.
Julius R. Conistock, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., June 30, 1865.
Nathan Douglass, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Geo. L. Freeman, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Alonzo Harmond, mustered out September 15, 1865.
John C. Hills, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Edmund G. Ingersol, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Thos. L. Millard, mustered out August 10, 1865.
Finley Mcintosh, mustered out September 15, 1865.
William H. Townsend, discharged by order June 14, 1865.
Hiram Peterman, mustered out September 15, 1865.
John E. Daniels, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Stephen T. Burlingham, d scharged by order September 5, 1865.
John Harmon, Jr., d scharged by order September 18, 1865.
Frederick D. Mills, mustered out June 14, 1805.
Philo D. Patterson, mustered out September 15, 1865.
William H. Eggleston, mustered out September 15, 1865.
James H. Darrow, mustered out September 15, 1865.
David S. Owens, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Samuel A. Flint, discharged by order July 18, 1865.

COMPANY I.
Henry Hoskins, discharged for disability June 8, 1865.
Vernon Mumbrelle, mustered out September 15, 1865.
John Mumbrelle, mustered out September 15, 1805.
Peter G. Walker, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Franklin Demarest, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Lansing Fairchild, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Helmus Hendryx, mustered out September 15, 1805.
Francis B. Ward, discharged by order May 15, 18(5.
James H. Jaikett, mustered out September 15, 1805.
John L. Pease, discharged by order June 20, 1865.
Wesley Waldron, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Alex. Scougall, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Isaac Hall, mustered out September 15, 1805.
Henry L. Partridge, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Smith Rhodes, died of disease at Atlanta, Ga., September 24 1864.
Edmund F. Wilcox, died of disease at Nashville Tenn., May 15, 1865.
Edward R. Ayling, died of disease at Chattanooga, Tenn., April 2 1865.
Charles C. Bebee, died of disease at Chattanooga, Tenn., April 2 1865.
Samuel Seeley, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps August 3, 1864.

COMPANY K.
Humphrey Austin, died of disease, Grand Rapids, Mich., March 15,1864.
Martin R. Kelley, died of disease, Chattanooga, Tenn., Feb. 24, 1865.
Francis M. Smith, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Walter Techner, discharged by order September 7, 1865.
Luther S. Holby, mustered out September 15, 1865.

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
George R. Elms, mustered out September 15, 1865.
Adna A. Train, mustered out September 15, 1865.

TENTH MICHIGAN INFANTEY.

COMPANY G.
Private Jacob Auglemyer, discharged for disability November 30, 1862.

Samuel A. Hooper, discharged to le-enlist as veteran February 6, 1864.
Samuel A. Hooper, mustered out July 19, 1865.

COMPANY K.

Private < has. Treadwell, discharged.

Private Geo. Bastock, discharged for disability July 29, 1862.

Private Henry Hoskins, discharged for disability July 24, 1862.

Oscar Tuttle, killed near Dalton, Ga , February 25, 1864.

Chas. Thornburn, killed at Jonesboro, Ga., September 1, 1864.

Jerry Hardin, transferred to U. S. Volunteer Engineers August 1, 1864.

Wm. Bustwick, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 6, 1864, dis-
charged by order July 25, 1865.

Jas. K. Harpster, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 6, 1864.

Thos. Holtone, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 4, 1864.

Geo. D. Jay, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 6, 1864, died in
the field, of wounds, August 13, 1864.

Daniel S. Merrill, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 6, 1861,
mustered out July 19, 1865.

Chas. H. Thornton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 6, 1864.

Oscar W. Tuttle, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 6, 1864.

Jeremiah Hardin, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Febiuary 6, 1864.

Geo. Doty, discharged for disability September 15, 1862.

ELEVENTH MICHIGAN INFANTEY.

COMPANY A.
Capt. Phillips, resigned August 11, 1864.

William H. Naughton, died of disease, at Nashville, Tenn., July 12, 1864.
Calvin L. Carpenter, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, Nov. 28, 1863.
Robert Carpenter, d. scharged at expiration of service, Sept. 30, 1864.
Charles Fullmer, discharged at expiration of service, September 30. 1864.
Stephen Huxley, discharged at expiration of service, September 30, 1864.
Levi L. Boughton, died of disease, Nashville, Tenn., November 16, 1862.
Calvin J. Multman, died of disease, Chattanooga, Tenn., March 31, 1865.
Enoch Hityse, mustered out August 30, 1865.
W. C. Howard, mustered out May 6, 1865.
Andrew Marshall, mustered out August 30, 1865.
John Sanford, mustered out September 16, 1865.
Ephraim Snyder, mustered out September 16, L>65.

COMPANY B.
Neri H. Brown, mustered out September 16, 1805.

William Jennings, died ot'disease at Belmont Furnace, Ky., April 18, 1862.
John W. Nichols, discharged for disability February 24, 1862.
George W. Nichols, discharged for disability March 19, 1863.
William R. Shephard, discharged at expiration of service, Sept. 20, 1861.
Charles 0. Price, transferred to 16th Michigan Infantry Sept. 20, 1861.

COMPANY C.

Spencer M. Blanchard, killed at Dallas, Ga., May 30, 1864.
Jeremiah Harris, discharged by order May 3, 1865.
Michael Amy, mustered cut September 16, 1865.
Robert Engles, mustered out September 11, 1865.
Lewis Spriugstubble, mustered out September 16, 1865.
Lyman Vanderburg, mustered out September 16, lfc65.
Chas. H. Wademan, mustered out September 16, 1865.
George H. Wademan, mustered out September 16, 1865.
Joseph A. Wingate, mustered out September 16, 1865.
Isaac Lowden, discharged by order June 16, 1865.
John C. Drake, discharged by order June 16, 1865.
Arthur S. Graham, discharged by order June 16, 1865.
H. S. Williams, discharged by order June 16, 1865.

COMPANY E.
Joseph Barton, mustered out September 16, 1865.
Frank Osborn, mustered out September 16, 1865.
George Willis, mustered out September 16, 1865.
James S. Whitney, mustered out September 16, 1865.
David 11. Nori is, discharged by order June 16, 1865.
Everett W. Norns, discharged by order June 16, 1865.

COMPANY F.

Horace Cornell, mustered out September 16, 1865.

COMPANY G.
David Bachman, mustered out September 16, 1865.
Henry J. Fisher, mustered out September 16, 1865.
David H. Foote, mustered out September 16, 1865.
Wm. K. Jordan, mustered out September 16, 1865.
William C. Smith, mustered out September 16, 1865.
Phineas H. Shipmau, mustered out September 16, 1865.

COMPANY H.

Charles Woolcott, mustered out September 16, 1862.
Mort. Leonard, mustered out September 16, 1865.
James Guyer, discharged for disability November 4, 1862.
Edward S. Knappiu, discharged for disability November 26, 1862.

COMPANY K.
James L. Gumming, mustered out September 16, 1865.

TWELFTH MICHIGAN IKFANTEY.

Chaplain Wm. H. Brockway.

Major Finnis Graves, promoted lieut.-col., mustered out of regiment.

COMPANY A.

Capt. James H. Nicholls.
Lieut. Wm. H. Watrous.
Emery Chappel, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 28, 1863,

died of disease, Little Rock, Ark., August 29, 1864.
Charles W. Robinson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 28, 1863.
Matthew Ca-saday, died of disease, Washington, Ark., July 19, 1865.
William H. Weaver, mustered out February 15, 1866.
William P. Weddell, mustered out February 15, 1866.

COMPANY B.
Jos. S. Howard, discharged November 11, 1862.
Eben Hart, discharged at expiration of service September 9, 1866.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

203

Harrison F. Stroug, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Shepardson Trumbull, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Elanson B. Miller, mustered out February^, 1866.
Augustus Randall, mustered out February 15, 1866.
James Tooley, discharged for disability September 27, 1865.
Chas. H. Trumbull, discharged for disability November 23, 1865.

COMPANY C.
John F. Miller, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Sylvester Consodine, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Nelson F. Easterbrook, discharged by order June 17, 1865.
Samuel Burkett, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Charles K. Platts, mustered out February 15, 1866.

COMPANY D.

Sergt. Fred. G. Wiselogel, promoted to 2d lieut., 1st lieut., and capt.,
mustered out February 15, 1866.

Capt. W. W. Graves, mustered out February 15, 1866.

1st lieut. Geo. H. Graves, mustered out February 15, 1866.

1st lieut. James H. Failing, mustered out February 15, 1866.

1st lieut. Jos. Ruff, mustered out February 15, 1866.

2d lieut. Win. W. Watrous, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Edward B. Clark, died of disease, Memphis, Tenn., February 10, 1863.

Donde C. Draper, died of disease, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 2, 1862.

David Whitmore, died of disease, Portsmouth Grove, R. I.

Joseph Davis, died of disease, Washington, Ark., June 28, 1865.

Henry Hamilton, died of disease, De Vall's Bluff, Ark., March 22, 1865.

Porter Bingham, died of disease, De Vall's Bluff, Ark., May 20, 1865.

Porter B. Wentworth, died of disease, Washington, Ark., July 18, 1865.

Orlo P. Hulett, mustered out February 15, 1866.

John Watson, mustered out February 15, 1866.

George B. Tompkins, discharged November 14, 1862.

Charles S. Avery, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Wm. E. Batchelder, discharged at expiration of service January 7, 1865.

George W. Edkin, discharged November 16, 1862.

W r illiam H. Ford, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Thos. Pitzgearld, discharged at expiration of service, January 7, 1865.

William H. Marsh, mustered out February 15, 1866.

John Shult, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Horace C. Belcher, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Smith Chatfield, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Lauriston C. Griffin, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Richard J. Lewis, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Thos. Langridge, discharged for disability November 14, 1864.

Charles Millard, discharged by order May 22, 1865.

Henry R. Pringle, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Merritt F. Prindle, discharged by order June 20, 1865.

John M. Woodworth, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Eugene C. Woodworth, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Charles T. Preston, discharged for disability June 30, 1862.

Jonas H. Nichols, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

Fred. G. Wiselogel, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 28, 1863.

James H. Farling, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

John Smith, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

Lewis Wiselogel, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 28, 1863,
discharged by order January 6, 1866.

Isaac Manning, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863,
discharged for disability November 19, 1865.

Orlo P. Hulett, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

John Spencer, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 28, 1863, dis-
charged by order November 18, 1865.

Geo. Teeter, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

John M. Watson, discharged to re- enlist as veteran February 26, 1864.

Wm. H. Marsh, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

Peter Burns, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863, dis-
charged by order March 1, 1866.

Joseph Ruff, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

Wallace Skutt, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

Joseph Davis, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

William H. Ford, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

Hiram N. Robinson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 28, 1863,
discharged by order November 18, 1865.

George W. Palmer, discharged for disability July 2, 1862.

Chas. S. Avery, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

Wesley Skutt, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 28, 1863.

Isaac Stephens, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

Henry Sampson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 26, 1864,
discharged for disability August 19, 1864.

Marvin S. Pendall, died at Evansville, Ind., from wounds received April
6, 1862.

Jas. W. Flimmings, died at St. Louis, of wounds received at Shiloh April
6, 1862.

Patrick McCormick, died at Shiloh, of wounds received there.

Henry Huntley, killed at St. Louis.

Edwin F. Wright, killed at Cincinnati, Ohio.

William Pincomb, killed at Bolivar, October 13, 1862.

Wm. H. Wiselogel, died of disease, Little Rock, Ark , Sept. 24, 1863.

Harvey Dutton, died of disease, Little Rock, Ark., October 4, 1863.

Henry Hughes, died of disease, Little Rock, Ark., October 30, 1863.

Isaac Stevens, died of disease at Memphis, Tenn., January 28, 1864.

Geo. Teeter, died of disease, Parma, Mich., March 24, 1864.

Chas. Clough, died of disease, Little Rock, Ark., June 2, 1864.

Reuben Davis, died of disease, Little Rock, Ark., June 2, 1864.

John Sullivan, died of disease, De Vall's Bluff, Ark., August 12, 1864.

Gilbert C. Eld red, died of disease, Little Rock, Ark., August 15, 1864.

Francis J. Curney, discharged for disability, September 2, 1862.

Geo. W. Bailey, discharged at Detroit, June 30, 1862.

Edgar Earl, discharged at Detroit, June 21, 1862.

Sidney Preston, discharged for disability July 9, 1862.

George R. Weldon, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Cassius M. Carr, discharged at expiration of service September 9, 1865.

Jesse H. Flemming, discharged at expiration of service Sept. 9, 1865.

Niorion Ferguson, discharged at expiration of service September 9, 1865.

Urial E. Babcock, mustered out February 15, 1866.

James M. Bennett, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Alex. W. Emmons, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Alex. B. Gordon, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Wallace Green, discharged by order August 22, 1865.
Michael Keck, mustered out February 15, 1866.
William M. Messacar, discharged by order May 28, 1865.
Horatio Nelson, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Aaron Oberlin, mustered out February 15, 1^66.
Jackson Reynolds, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Edwin G. Wells, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Elias Wright, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Chas. A. Owen, missing at Shiloh, Tenn., April 6, 1862.
Edgar Earl, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Richard Town, mustered out February 15, IS66.
I^aac Root, mustered out February 15. 1806.
Fred'k Sebastian, discharged by order June 20, 1865.
Austin Binder, mustered out February 15, 1866.

COMPANY E.
Edward R. Chandler, mustered out February 15, 1866.
John E. Mitchell, discharged by order May 27, 1865.
Jeremiah Tibbitts, discharged by order May 22, 1865.
Geo. W. Brown, discharged by order June 1, 1865.
Wallace Green, discharged by order August 22, 1865.

COMPANY F.

Matthew Cassady, died of disease, Washington, Ark., July 17, 1865.
Reuben Hart, discharged to re-enlist as veteran, December 30, 1863.

COMPANY H.
Wm. H. Waters, missing at Shiloh, Tenn., April 6, 1862.
Timothy E. Howard, discharged June 14, 1862.

Geo. W. Folsom, died of disease, Little Rock, Ark., September 28, 1864.
Lyman Sylvester, discharged for disability January 20, 1863.
Geo. H McCollam, discharged for disability February 16, 1862.
Wm. Waterous, discharged to re-enlist as veteran March 8, 1864.
Chas. E. Fink, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 28, 1863.
John W. Wilson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 19, 1863.
Sidney Failing, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 19, 1863,

mustered out February 15, 1866.
Benj. F. Laning, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 19, 1863.
Wm. H. Fink, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 6, 1864.
Nelson Arsnell, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 19, 1863.
James H. Cole, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 26, 1863.
Geo. H. Folsom, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 1, 1864.
Gottleib Grotzinger, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 19, 1863,

mustered out February 15, 1866.
Orin Holt, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 19, 1863.
Martin Lacy, discharged to re-enlist as veteran, December 19, 1863.
Robt. M. Pealing, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 26, 1863.
2d lieut. Co. F., Soloman P. Brockway, must, out lieut.-col. 9th cavalry.
Homer H. Slayton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 19,1863.
Richard S. Burke, discharged to re-enlist as veteran February 27, 1864.
Gorton Graham, died of disease, Middlesburg, Tenn., November 18, 1864.
Isaac W. Lansing, died of disease, Macon, Ga., July 17, 1863.
Peter Cocher, discharged August 3d, 1862.
James H. Cole, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Benj. Lansing, mustered out February 15, 1866.
John Wilson, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Robt. M. Pealing, mustered out February 15, 1866.
John Chambers, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Lyman A. Sylvester, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Chas. Fisher, discharged by order July 16, 1865.
Chas. M. Newton, discharged by order August 22, 1865.
Geo. Zull, mustered out February 15, 1866.
John B. Hanson, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Melville J. Wood, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Geo. E. Wallace, mustered out February 15, 1866.

COMPANY I.
1st lieut. Chas. E. Harvey, resigned.

James Hand, discharged at expiration of service September 9, 1865.
Nelson Barber, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Wm. H. Hicks, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Andrew Jones, mustered out February 15, 1866.
James Mauzer, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Albert Outman, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Garrett Debon, died of disease at Washington, Ark., July 3, 1865.
Franklin Rockwell, mustered out February 15, 1866.

COMPANY K.

Henry H. Nash, discharged by order June 17,1865.

Stephens Hawkins, mustered out February 15, 1866.

Jas. McConnell, died of disease, West Delhi, Mich., February 23, 1864.

Albert V. Markham, transferred to Vet. Res. Corps December 12, 1863.

Capt. Jones H. Nichols, Co. — , mustered out February 15, 1866.

THIRTEENTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

Capt. Loren Cbadwick.
Capt. Henry C. Hall.
Lieut. Jerome S. Bigelow.
Capt. Chas. T. Hall.
Lieut. E. H. Hall.

COMPANY C.
Robert C. Hungerford, died of disease, New York Harbor, March 6, 1865.
John Wyatt, mustered out July 25, 1865.
Weeden N. Gleeson, mustered out June 8, 1865.
John E. Hickman, mustered out June 8, 1865.
Cyrus B. Hungerford, discharged by order June 8, 1865.
Jacob E. Lobdell, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
Eugene D. Nash, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

COMPANY D.

Aldrich Strickler, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 18, 1864.
Orestus G. Sprague, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 18, 1864.
John Howe, died of disease, Battle Creek, Mich., January 9, 1865.

Dudley M. Joy, died of disease, De Camp Hospital, May 25, 1865.

Theodore L. Davis, discharged at expiration of service May 5, 1865.

Albinius Boehme, mustered out July 25, 1865.

Aldrich Strickler, discharged by order June 2, 1865.

Daniel J. Carr, mustered out July 25, 1865.

Timothy C. Hodges, discharged by order July 13, 1865.

Theodore S. Riley, discharged by order June 14, 1865.

Hiram Cole, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

Michael Dolan, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

Jerome B. Seymour, died of disease near Corinth May 28, 1862.

Eli Link, discharged for disability June 26, 1862.

Edward P. Sebbins, discharged for disability July 1, 1862.

John L. Northrup, discharged for disability July 12, 1862.

Robert Paxton, killed at Stone River, Tenn., December 31, 1862.

Livingston C. Brooks, missing at Stone River, Tenn., December 31, 1863.

George A. Hampten, discharged for disability August 13, 1862.

Horace Moore, discharged for disability March 10, 1863.

James M. Fairfield, discharged for disability March 21, 1863.

Livingston C. Brooks, discharged for disability January 15, 1864.

George Munson, discharged for disability August 25, 1864.

Geo. W. Nichols, discharged for disability May 1, 1864.

Orestus G. Sprague, discharged by order August 15, 1864.

Alonzo J. Hunt, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 8, 1864.

Timothy S. Ingraham, discharged by order June 16, 1865.

Fred'k Jifkins, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

George Lewis, discharged by order June 27, 1865.

Oscar Spencer, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

COMPANY E.
George W. Dawley, mustered out July 25, 1865.
Ransom S. Putnam, mustered out July 25, 1865.
Lewis Van Hining, discharged by order June 21, 1865.
James H. Winters, discharged by order June 21, 1865.
Cebwin E. Alvord, d scharged by order May 25, 1865.
Franklin Van Hining, mustered out July 25, 1865.
Franklin Wolf, missing at Chickamauga, September 19, 1863.
Calvin M Heath, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 18, 1864.
Charles Miller, died of disease at Camp Dennison, 0., January 14, 1865.

COMPANY F.
James Jennings, discharged by order June 26, 1865.

COMPANY G.

Ezra Holton, died of disease, Newbern, N. C, April 15, 1865.

Fitz G. Foster, died of disease, Richmond, Va., June 14, 1865.

Joel Sweet, died of disease, Savannah, Ga., February 8, 1865.

Frank J. Mason, died of disease, Savannah, Ga., February 5, 1865.

Geo. H. Richardson, died of disease, David's Island, New York Harbor,

May 11, 1865.
John D. Bloomer, discharged by order August 7, 1865.
Richard S. Briggs, discharged by order June 8, 1865.
Thomas Craig, discharged by order June 8, 1865.
Clark Denham, discharged by order June 8, 1865.
Lackland McKenzie, discharged by order July 15. 1865.
William Jackson, discharged by order June 8, 1865.
Phineas G. Powers, discharged June 8, 1865.
Henry Vraudenburgh, discharged by order June 26, 1865.
William Willison, discharged June 8, 1865.
Dealton Denham, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

COMPANY H.

Gilbert Saxton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 18, 1864.

Wilier Service, killed at Bentonville, N. C, March 19, 1865.

Spencer T. Barber, died of disease at Nashville Nov. 9, 1862.

Lewis C. Jaynes, discharged for disability July 21, 1862.

Orrin D. Lee, discharged for disability July 25, 1862.

Hiram B. Rollins, discharged for disability July 5, 1862.

James H. Winters, discharged for disability.

Lewis C. Jaynes, discharged for disability July 31, 1862.

George Gould, killed at Stone River, Tenn., December 31, 1862.

Samuel Funk, killed at Chickamauga, Tenn., September 20, 1863.

Spencer T. Barber, killed at Nashville, Tenn., November 9, 1863.

Stephen Sherman, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 15, 1864.

Gilbert Saxton, mustered out July 25, 1865.

Elueus S. Alvord, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

George W. Hampton, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

Fletcher Alvord, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

Lorenzo Hitchcock, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

Lafayette Libhart, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

Charles E. Randel, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

Hiram Soule, discharged by order July 15, 1865.

COMPANY I.

John Berne, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

Wm. H. Stoddard, died of disease, Savannah, Ga., February 2, 1865.

Wm. R. Bradford, died of disease, Wellsboro', N. C, February 27, 1865.

Henry C. Hall, capt. September 17, 1862.

William Howe, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

John Youngs, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

Samuel L. Jones, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

Frank Van Dyke, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

COMPANY K.
Patrick Norton, discharged by order June 8, 1865.
Ezra Abbott, mustered out July 25, 1865.
Ellis Butler, mustered out July 25, 1865.
John Blakesly, mustered out July 25, 1865.
William Dobson, mustered out July 25, 1862.
George Gifford, mustered out July 25, 1865.
Samuel B. Lewis, discharged by order May 29, 1865.
John Murphy, mustered out July 25, 1865.
Robert 0. Stayton, discharged by order July 13, 1865.
Andrew J. Abbott, discharged by order June 8, 1865.
Geo. Renoup, discharged by order June 8, 1865.
John T. Story, discharged by order June 8, 1865.

204

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Orville Leonard, died of d sease on transport " Ben De Ford," February

15, 1865.
Geo. Campbell, died of disease, Savannah, Ga., December 18, 1865.
Geo. Morton, discharged for disability October 18, 1862.
John Baker, killed at Chattanooga, Tenn., May 2, 1864.
Geo. W. Morton, discharged for disability October 18, 1862.

FOURTEENTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

COMPANY B.
Thos. Hackett, discharged July 23, 1863.
Peter Harrold, discharged February 5, 1863, re-enlisted, discharged at

expiration of service August 1, 1865.
Charles Clark, discharged January 16, 1863.
Timothy Reily, discharged March 2, 1863.

Geo. L. Vroom, died of disease, Farmington, Miss., June 18, 1862.
Daniel Murray, discharged at expiration of service March 14, 1865.
Edward Murphy, discharged at expiration of service March 14, 1865.
Thos. McGovern, discharged at expiration of service February 2, 1865.
John O'Donnell, killed in action.
Corpl. Frank Carr, mustered out.
2d lieut. Nich. Devereaux, mustered out as captain.

COMPANY I.

John C. Finegal, died of disease, Nashville, Tenn., November 3, 1863.

FIFTEENTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.
COMPANY A.

Wm. Jones, discharged by order July 13, 1865.
Wm. H. Larkins, mustered out August 13, 1865.
James A. Clark, mustered out August 13, 1865.

COMPANY B.
Parsley Long, mustered out August 13, 1865.

COMPANY C.
Louis Hoyte, mustered out August 13, 1865.
Daniel B. Hoyte, mustered out August 13, 1865.

COMPANY E.
James Murray, mustered out August 13, 1865.
Richard B. Martin, mustered out August 13, 1865.

COMPANY I.
Private Gifford Bennoni, killed at Shiloh, Tenn., April 6, 1862.

SIXTEENTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.
COMPANY A.
Matthew L. Crandell, mustered out July 8, 1865.

COMPANY C.
Charles Anderson, mustered out July 8, 1865.
Alfred Acton, mustered out July 8, 1865.
John Sprague, mustered out July 8, 1865.
John W. Williams, mustered out July 8, 1865.

COMPANY D.
Albert I. Brandon, mustered out July 8, 1865.

COMPANY E.
James H. Carr, mustered out July 8, 1865.
Samuel Saltmarsh, mustered out July 8, 1865.

COMPANY F.
Dennis Taylor, discharged for disability.
Levis Whitney, discharged by order July 8, 1865.
Henry Decker, killed March 14, 1862.

Stephen Carill, discharged for disability December 26, 1861.
George S. Smith, discharged for disability.
Dennis Balcomb, discharged for disability, died of disease.
Edwin A. Bartleson, dropped from rolls May 8, 1862.
Benjamin F. Alberts, discharged for disability July 5, 1862.
Edwin J. Bartleson, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 15, 1864.
Dennis Taylow, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps July 1, 1863.
George M. Warner, discharged at expiration of service Sept. 7, 1864.
William E. Roe, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Edwin A. Bartleson, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 15, 1864.

COMPANY K.
John A. Holt, discharged for disability April 30, 1862.
Edward Burton, killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863.
Newton Dennison, discharged to re-enlist as veteran March 1, 1864,

mustered out July 8, 1865.
Allen Dennison, discharged to re-enlist as veteran March 1, 1864,

mustered out July 8, 1865.
Silas Wilbur, discharged to re-enlist as veteran March 1, 1864.
Joseph Goely, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 23, 1863.
Wm. Comstock, discharged for disability December 9, 1864.
James Flausburgh, mustered out July 8, 1865.
Chester L. Bell, discharged at expiration of service May 3, 1865.

SEVENTEENTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

COMPANY D.
Alvin Farr, discharged for disability.

COMPANY E.
John H. Marvin, killed at Antietam September 17, 1862.
Edwin A. Bush, died near Petersburg, Va., of wounds, June 18, 1864.

COMPANY F.
John McRoberts, discharged for disability November 30, 1862.
Jos. Leonard, killed at Knoxville, Tenn., November 20, 1863.
Charles Fry, mustered out June 3, 1865.
Caleb Williams, mustered out June 3, 1865.

COMPANY G.

Bushries Alexander, killed at Antietam September 17, 1862.

John Strassell, died of wounds received at Antietam, Md.

Uriah H. Belcher, died of wounds received at South Mountain.

Thos. Fisher, died of disease at Baltimore March 22, 1863.

Wm. McCall, discharged for disability March 4, 1862.

Chas. McGuin, discharged for disability February 7, 1863.

Geo. V. Warren, discharged for disability February 17, 1863.

Edward Updike, discharged for disability May 15, 1863.

James L. Moore, discharged for disability February 19, 1865.

Thos. P. May, mustered out June 3, 1865.

John Conley, ninstered out June 3, 1865.

Thos. Epley, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Jas. B. Gregory, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Thos. llalcomb, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Wm. B. Jones, mustered out June 3, 1865.

David H. Jones, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Thos. J. Prior, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Wm. H. Vanderhoof, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Simon R. Wright, discharged by order June 21, 1865.

COMPANY H.

Thomas L. Baker, killed at Pleasant Valley October 15, 1862.

Geo. Pellett, killed at Alexandria December 22, 1862.

William Smith, discharged for disability November 30, 1862.

Fred'k Norman, discharged for disability December 3, 1862.

Frank Brewer, discharged for disability January 27, 1863.

James Jones, discharged for disability April 15, 1863.

Stephen Cooper, killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.

W. V. Whitcomb, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Feb. 15, 1864.

William Hughs, died of disease, Charleston, S. C, September 1, 1864.

Samuel Smith, discharged by order June 10, 1865.

Byron Anthony, discharged by order June 12, 1865.

Lewis Brooks, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Ira Frost, mustered out June 3, 1865.

James F. Harrington, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Daniel Rolfe, discharged by order May 25, 1865.

Matthew C. Thomas, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Frank White, mustered out June 3, 1865.

COMPANY K.

J. Thomas Woodmansee, discharged for disability January 28, 1863.

William Messrole, killed at Knoxville April 14, 1865.

Fred'k Waterman, died in military prison at Florence, S. C.

Matthew Woodmansee, discharged for disability October 28, 1862.

Josiah Cooley, mustered out June 3, 1865.

John Cassady, discharged for disability July 29, 1863.

Arthur J. Phillips, mustered out June 3, 1865.

John S. Stout, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Arzo Weatherbee, discharged by order May 23, 1865.

1st lieut. J. P. C. Church, resigned December 26, 1862, ill health.

2d lieut. Thos. W. Wells, resigned August 3, 1863.

EIGHTEENTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

Lieut. Edward Janney.

COMPANY B.
Martin M. Barney, transferred to Ninth Michigan Infantry.
James W. Hatch, transferred to Ninth Michigan Infantry.

COMPANY D.
Daniel Nelson, died of disease at Decatur, Ala., December 17, 1864.
Eugene Shook, transferred to Ninth Michigan Infantry.

COMPANY H.

Chas. Barnes, died of disease, Huntsville, Ala., March 17, 1865.

NINETEENTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

COMPANY C.
R. B. Wallace, discharged for disability May 8, 1863.

TWENTIETH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

Surgeon S. S. French, resigned July 21, 1864.

Adjt. H. S. Warner, promoted qr. master February 24, 1863 ; discharged

for disability July 20, 1864.
Lieut. Geo. B. Hicks.
Lieut. Albert G. Barney.
Lieut. Stephen 0. Bryant.

COMPANY B.

Horace Hoyt, killed at Petersburg, Va., June 8, 1864.
Orin Hoyt, mustered out May 30, 1865.

COMPANY C.

Capt. Geo. C. Barnes, promoted lieut.-col., died of wounds received before
Petersburg.

1st lieut. J. H. Weeks, resigned February 28, 1863.

2d lieut. Chas. J. Brown, died at Frederick City, Md., January 29, 1863.

Sergt. G. B. Hicks, promoted 2d lieut., killed before Petersburg.

Sergt. W. H. Chadwick, promoted 2d lieut. ; mustered out.

Sergt. H. V. Knight, promoted 2d lieut. February 24, 1863 ; capt. ; must-
ered out with regiment.

Sergt. W. A. Barnard, promoted 1st lieut, capt. ; mustered out ; wounded.

Sergt. John Freeman, promoted 2d lieut. ; mustered out with regiment.

Sergt. Chas. W. Maynard, promoted 1st lieut. ; must, out with regiment.

Sergt. A. G. Barney, promoted lieut., May, 1864; died of wounds.

Capt. Leroy C. Boise, Co. — ; mustered out with regiment May 30, 1865.

Capt. Adrian C. White, Co. — ; must, out with regiment May 30, 1865.

1st lieut. Homer Spencer, Co. — ; must, out with reg. May 30, 1865.

2d lieut. Stephen O'Bryant, Co. — ; must, out with reg. May 30, 1863.

George Greenleaf, transferred to 2d Michigan Infantry.

Herbert E. Hathaway, transferred to 2d Michiga i Infantry.

James H. Hathaway, transferred to 2d Michigan Infantry.

George W. Nichols, transferred to 2d Michigan Infantry.

Jonathan H. Olney, transferred to 2d Michigan Infantry.

James Oldaka, transferred to 2d Michigan Infantry.

John P. Riley, transferred to 2d Michigan Infantry.

George W. Rolfe, transferred to 2d Michigan Infantry.

Walter H. Chadwick, 2d lieut., mustered out May 30, 1865.

Andrew Kniter, mustered out June 21, 1865.

Aaron L. Stiles, mustered out May 30, 1865.

George M. Knowles, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Stephen Swartwout, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Jabez P. Davis, mustered out May 30, 1865.

George M. Buck, mustered out May 30, 1865.

John Booth, mustered out May 12, 1865.

Atalabar A. Blank, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Henry S. Bushnell, discharged for disability February 20, 1865.

William M. Barber, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Charles Brevier, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Russell B. Brevier, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Stephen 0. Bryant, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Chester Casey, mustered out May 30, 1865.

George Carr, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Charles S. Clark, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Harmon Demarest, mustered out May 30, 1865.

John W. Demott, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Wyman Ditzel, mustered out June 2, 1865.

Corp. Richard Ellison, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Charles H. Hicks, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Albert L. Isham, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Julius C. Kimble, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Henry E. Knox, mustered out May 30, 1865.

John P. Luskin, mustered out May 30, 1865.

William Moore, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Hugh Matthews, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Perry H. Manchester, discharged May 11, 1865.

Corporal Henry Mulham, discharged for disability March 28, 1865.

George Powels, mustered out May 30, 1865.

James 0. Riley, mustered out May 30, 1865.

John Romig, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Edgar H. Scotford, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Germain J. Williams, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Hiram E. Wilbur, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Frank A. House, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Charles W. Glynn, mustered out May 6, 1865.

Alpheus Wisener, mustered out June 16, 1865.

George W. Hoyt, missing at Knoxville, Tenn., November 29, 1863.

George Jackett, missing at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.

Charles B. Smith, missing at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.

William W. McCall, missing at Cold Harbor, Va., June 2, 1864.

William Maynard, missing at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.

John Nickerson, died of disease, Crab Orchard, Ky., November 15, 1863.

Daniel Welsh, died of disease, Knoxville, Tenn., April 1, 1864.

Joel Stephens, died of disease, Annapolis, Md., April, 1864.

Ray G. Williams, died of disease, Annapolis, Md., April, 1864.

James Sweet, died of disease, Annapolis, Md., April, 1864.

Robert Buchanan, discharged for disability, December 9, 1862.

David Russell, died at Columbia, Tenn., of w r ounds, May 10, 1863.

Ezra W. Austin, died of disease near Falmouth, Va., February 2, 1863.

Mark N. Harvey, died of disease near Falmouth, Va., February 5, 1863.

Wm. French, died of disease at Vicksburg, June 26, 1863.

James A. Barnum, died of disease at Cincinnati, 0., August 25, 1863.

Abram 0. Hunt, died of disease at Falmouth, Va., January 9, 1863.

Schuyler V. Fish, died of disease at Washington, D. C, December 8, 1862.

Joseph M. Parsons, died of disease near Falmouth,Va., January 15,1863.

George H. Hodge, discharged for disability August 2, 1863.

Alfred A. Ellsworth, discharged for disability May 21, 1862.

William C. Jackson, discharged for disability May 25, 1862.

Thomas Green, discharged for disability February 21, 1863.

Daniel J. Hubbard, discharged for disability February 19, 1863.

Henry Pier, discharged for disability March 12, 1863.

George W. Thomas, discharged for disability February 15, 1863.

Charles Scates, discharged for disability.

Peter Roche, discharged for disability, December 30, 1862.

Truman N. Andrews, died at Cold Harbor Spring, of wounds, June 3,

1864.
Philip Ryan, died at Knoxville, Tenn., of wounds, December 17, 1863.
Edwin H. Owen, killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.
David M. Bidwell, killed near Petersburg, Va., July 30, 1864.
Geo. W. Terrill, died near Hartland, Mich., July 13, 1864.
W. P. Lovejoy, died near Petersburg, Va., July 30, 1864.
Sylvester Lewis, killed near Cold Harbor, Va., June 2, 1864.
Homer C. Geer, killed near Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864.
Henry Maud, died at Philadelphia, Pa., of wounds, June 19, 1864.
Dexter Hunt, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May, 1864.
Charles Denton, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 15, 1864.
Charles B. Williams, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 15,

1864.
Ira W. Hulburt, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps April 10, 1864.
Eugene F. Freeman, discharged for promotion, February 26, 1864.
Charles Yerringlin, discharged for disability.
Joseph L. Holcomb, discharged for disability May 6, 1863.
James A. Howe, discharged by general court-martial August 13, 1864.
Charles A. Barber, discharged for disability September 27, 1864.
S. V. Fish, died of disease, Fairfax Seminary Hospital, Va., December 8,

1862.
David Demott, died of disease at Grafton, W. Va., April 1, 1865.
James B. Monk, died of disease at Le Roy, Mich., December 20, 1863.
Cyrus L. Wilter, died of disease at Andersonville, Ga., August 14, 1864.
Wm. McCall, transferred to Second Michigan Infantry.
Robert R. Bevier, transferred to Second Michigan Infantry.
Morris Bushnell, transferred to Second Michigan Infantry.
George M. Hoag, transferred to Second Michigan Infantry.
Darius Van Haning, transferred to Second Michigan Infantry.
Isaac Wise, transferred to Second Michigan Infantry.
William B. Chadsey, transferred to Second Michigan Infantry,

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

205

COMPANY E.
Eichard Curtis, killed at Knoxville, Md., November 8, 1862.

COMPANY H.

Reuben Gillott, died of disease at Milldale, Miss., July 28, 1863.

COMPANY I.

Capt. Charles C. Dodge, resigned April 18, 1865.

First lieutenant G. W. Bullis, promoted captain; discharged for dis-
ability August 10, 1864.

Second lieutenant J. T. Hammond, promoted first lieutenant January
26, 1863; discharged for disability March 16, 1864.

Sergt. A. Van Dyke, promoted lieutenant in 12th United States Colored
Troops, and adjutant of regiment.

Lieut. Frank Woodworff, promoted captain in 12th United States Col-
ored Troops; died in New Orleans.

H. F. Eobinson, 1st lieutenant and captain ; killed before Petersburg,
while officer of the day, by rebel picket, February 14, 1865.

J. Schuyler Montgomery, captain and assistant adjuant-general on Gene-
ral Davidson's staff.

Lieut. C. A. Loundsbury, wounded.

Nathan P. Parke, died of disease, Falmouth, Va., December 1, 1862.

George Brokaw, died of disease, Falmouth, Va., December 27, 1862.

Charles W. Benham, killed at Columbia River, May 9, 1863.

Charles W. Treadwell, died of disease at Falmouth, Va., Jan. 6, 1863.

Samuel G. Weaver, died of disease, Milldale, Miss., July 20, 1863.

David Griffin, died of disease, Baltimore, June 17, 1863.

Henry Doty, died of disease, on board the steamer "Westmoreland,"
August 5, 1863.

Ethimer Granger, discharged for disability September 11, 1863.

Leroy Hartson, discharged for disability June 25, 1863.

John Ogden, discharged for disability June 22, 1863.

Levi Gribble, discharged for disability April 27, 1863.

Charles A. Keys, discharged for disability March 24, 1863.

Frendley D. Burlingham, discharged for disability February 26, 1863.

Dexter Cole, discharged for disability March 1, 1863.

Thomas Taylor, discharged for disability March 7, 1863.

Orestes Buckingham, discharged for disability February 2, 1863.

Lewis W. Allen, discharged for disability February 15, 1863.

Samuel Bortlea, discharged for disability February 17, 1863.

Charles Boughton, discharged for disability February 17, 1863.

Adam Hasbrook, discharged for disability February 17, 1863.

Levi Van Buren, discharged for disability February 14, 1863.

John W. Sammons, discharged for disability January 7, 1863.

John Guff, discharged for disability January 7, 1863.

William P. Pratt, discharged for disability December 26, 1863.

Zebulon L. Doty, mustered out May 3, 1865.

Ira W. Ely, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Whortley A. Ford, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Edwin George, discharged for disability November 25, 1862.

Augustus Gillier, mustered out May 30, 1865.

William Gleason, corporal, mustered out May 30, 1865.

John Grozinger, mustered out May 30, 1865.

John Hiller, corporal, mustered out June 12, 1865.

Lavsair P. Hazen, discharged for disability November 25, 1862.

David J. Hoffman, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Glode D. Lewis, mustered out July 5, 1865.

Jeremiah Mickel, discharged for wounds, February 28, 1865.

Joseph R. Mickel, mustered out.

William H. Mickel, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Conrad Nover, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Simary Phelps, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Henry W. Smith, mustered out June 29, 1865.

David Smith, mustered out May 30, 1865.

George S. Smith, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Wellington J. Sawdy, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Jay Sanders, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Myron J. Sammons, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Jacob F. Smith, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Jacob H. Van Ness, mustered out June 20, 1865.

Henry W'alkinshaw, discharged for wounds April 12, 1861.

Valentine Wagner, mustered out June 13, 1865.

John Dixon, discharged for disability January 16, 1863.

Henry Butler, discharged for disability January 7, 1863.

Win. Heath, discharged for disability January 17, 1863.

David W. Crofoot, died at Knoxville, of wounds, December 15, 1863.

William W. Cairns, died at Knoxville, of wounds, December 26, 1863.

Andrew H. Cleveland, killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 11, 1864.

Josiah Smith, killed June 18, 1862.

Peter Bestle, died at Fredericksburg, Va., of wounds, June 18, 1864.

Philip N. Saunders, died at Was-hington, of wounds.

Delos Wood, died of disease, Baltimore, Md., July 4, 1863.

William McDonald, died of disease, Annapolis, Md., March 31, 1864.

Remington E. Gardner, died of disease, New Albany, Ind.

William 0. Dillabaugh, died of disease, in military prison at Anderson-
ville, Ga., June 21, 1864.

Glode D. Lewis, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, February 15, 1864.

Charles Raven, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, February 15, 1864.

Ira O. Trumbull, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, February 15, 1864.

William J. McFadden, discharged for disability, January 15, 1864.

Arba C. Lewis, died of disease, Leesboro', Md., September 21, 1862.

Corp. Theo. C. Saulsbury, killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.

James G. Blake, killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.

Charles Mench, sergt., died at Andersonville, Ga., August 14, 1864.

Chester D. Berry, killed by explosion steamer "Sultan," April 28, 1865.

Wm. D. Dillingham, died of disease, Andersonville, Ga., June 21, 1864.

James McRoberts, died of disease, Andersonville, Ga., June 21, 1864.

Harrison W. Ayers, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps.

Sergt. Orange P. Aker, mustered out June 2, 1865.

John E. Smith, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Robert W. Davidson, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Peter Hoover, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Eugene Stone, mustered out June 9, 1865.

Charles Bradshaw, mustered out May 30, 1865.

Frank Bestle, discharged for disability, 1863.
George Brookim, mustered out May 30, 1865.
Daniel Cornell, mustered out May 30, 1865.
John Collins, mustered out May 30, 1865.
John Chamberlain, mustered out May 30, 1865.
Thos. L. Dancer, mustered out May 30, 1865.
Charles E. Davis, mustered out May 30, 1865.

COMPANY K.
Francis Ramy, transferred to 2d Michigan Infantry.
Orrin R. Bronnell, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps.

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Albert G. Barney, died at his home of wounds, July 29, 1864.

TWENTY-SECOND MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

Lieut. Wm. E. Thornton.

COMPANY I.

Private Joel D. Haven, mustered out June 28, 1865.

TWENTY-THIRD MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

COMPANY H.

Charles H. Strong, mustered out June 22, 1865.

COMPANY K.
Horace D. Newton, mustered out June 6, 1865.

TWENTY-FOURTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.
COMPANY A.

Joel 0. Lyon, mustered out June 30, 1865.

COMPANY B.
Albert Watson, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Charles Webh, mustered out June 30, 1865.
George W. Warren, mustered out June 30, 1865.

COMPANY C.
Henry E. Alton, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Franklin Billings, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Job Boyce, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Robert II. Collins, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Richard Kern, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Marcus Morton, mustered out June 30, 1865.

COMPANY E.

Patrick Quigley, mustered out June 30, 1865.
James Caffrey, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Harrison M. Dickey, mustered out June 30, 1865.

COMPANY F.

William Ayling, mustered out June 30, 1865.

COMPANY G.
Sergt.-major Gilbert A. Dickey, 1st lieutenant, killed at Gettysburg, Pa.,

in command of the company.
1st lieut. Wm. Hutchinson, capt., major, June 29, 1864; mustered out

June 21, 1865.
2d lieut. Geo. W. Burchell, 1st lieut., capt, November 1, 1863 ; mustered

out June 21, 1865.

COMPANY If.

Edward English, mustered out June 30, 1805.
Philo Hallett, mustered out June 30, 1865.
James H. Owens, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Richard Hannis, mustered out June 30, 1865.

COMPANY K.

William Smalley, mustered out June 30, 1865.
William C. Voorhies, mustered out June 30, 1865. '
Charles F. Marble, mustered out June 30, 1865.
William E. Craig, mustered out June 28, 1865.
Peter Frey, mustered out July 3, 1865.
William Hartranft, mustered out June 30, 1865.
William E. Hunt, mustered out June 30, 1865.
George Reese, mustered out June 30, 1865.

TWENTY-FIFTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Abner Vandyke, discharged for promotion January 14, 1864.
Watson B. Mead, mustered out May 19, 1865.

COMPANY A.
Captain Charles B. Pratt, mustered out with regiment.
1st lieut. Orange Bugbee, discharged for disability, April 27, 1864.
2d lieut. Norris J. Frink, resigned October 29, 1863.
Corp. Orlando Crocker, died of disease at Louisville, Ky., Nov. 21,1862.
Private E. H. Collins, died of disease at Louisville, Ky., Dec. 8, 1862.
Private Chas. H. Beardsley, died of disease, Louisville, Ky., Dec. 22, 1862.
Private Nelson Rogers, discharged for disability, October 16, 1862.
Corp. Perry Acker, died of disease at Mumfordville, Ky,, Jan. 8, 1863.
Private Wm. Hurd, died of disease at Mumfordville, Ky., Jan, 18, 1863.
Private Wm. Tower, died of disease at Mumfordville, Ky., Jan. 19, 1863.
Corp. Silas Perkins, died of disease at Mumfordville, Jan. 24, 1863.
Private Jeremiah Brand, died of dis., Bowling Green, Ky., Jan. 16, 1863.
Private Oscar Terry, died of disease, Bowling Green, Ky., Jan. 21, 1863.
Sergt. C. B. Kennedy r died of disease at Mumfordville, Ky., Feb. 1, 1863.
Private Elias E. Curtis, died of disease, Bowling Green, Ky., Feb. 11, 1863.
Private Gilbert S. Clark, died of disease, Mumfordville, Ky., Feb. 19, 1863.
Private Richard Martin, died of disease, Bowling Green, Ky., Feb. 1,1863.
Private John Hess, died of disease, Bowling Green, Ky., Mar. 19, 1863.
Private Gabriel Sanders, discharged for disability Feb. 21, 1863.
Private Cornelius Segar, discharged for disability Feb. 21, 1863.
Private Alex. Cummings, discharged for disability Feb. 21, 1863.
1st Sergt. Geo. H. Rose, discharged for disability Feb. 19, 1863.

Private Bela F. Putnam, discharged for disability May 5, 1863

Private V. R. Whittaker, discharged for disability May 8, 1863.

Private Mahlon Probasco, discharged for disability May 9, 1863.

Private Mortimer McKinney, discharged for disability May 13, 1863.

Private Elliot Headington, discharged for disability May 14, 1863.

Private Henry Griffin, discharged for disability June 13, 1863.

Private J. F. Blodget, discharged by order July 22, 1863.

Private J. C. Clemons, discharged by order July 20,. 1863.

Private Orville S. Ely, discharged by order July 20, 1863.

Private Seneca North, discharged by order July 20, 1863.

Private Orville Pike, discharged by order July 20, 1863.

W. Warrington, died at Chattanooga, of wounds, July 11, 1864.

Corporal W. Cruse.

W. 0. Van Wie, died at Knoxville, Tenn., July 16, 1864, of wounds.

Abraham Kelly, died at Knoxville, Tenn., July 16, 1864, of wounds.

D. S. Chapin, died of disease at Knoxville, Tenn., January 7, 1864.

Chas. D. Burt, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Dec. 15, 1863.

J. F. Blodgett, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Jan. 15, 1864.

Amos B. Taylor, discharged for disability August 25, 1864.

George Hadcock, transferred to Twenty-pighth Infantry June 24, 1865.

James D. Wicks, transferred to Twenty-eighth Infantry June 24, 1865.

Benj. Brand, mustered out June 24, 1865.

John Brewer, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Andrew Bush, mustered out June 24, 1865.

David Burger, mustered out May 27, 1865.

Benj. F. Brown, mustered out July 3, 1865.

Sergt. Orlando Brown, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Hiram Blake, mustered out June 24, 1865.

John X. Brainard, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Henry S. Burns, mustered out June 24, 1865.

George Cushman, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Frank W. Chase, mustered out June 24, L865.

James Carr, mustered out June 24, 1865.

George Elliston, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Silas Fry, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Uriah Fairchild, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Newton V. Gregory, mustered out June 24, 1865.

William Harrington, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Sergt. Lewis C. Killian, mustered out June 24, 1865.

James Kelly, mustered out June 24, 1865.

James Kincade, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Silas H. Linn, corporal, mustered out May 11, 1865.

Thomas Morey, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Charles A. Norris, mustered out June 3, 1865.

Ardy Ogden, corporal, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Dennis Reardon, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Charles Storey, discharged for disability, December 2, 1864.

Henry J. Sikes, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Daniel Spotts, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Chauncy C. Wicks, mustered out June 24, 1865.

J. 0. F. Warner, corporal, mustered out June 24, 1865.

William 0. Wells, mustered out 1865.

Reardon Watts, mustered out June 24, 1865.

Charles W. Welles, mustered out June 24, 1865.

William J. Yourex, mustered out June 24, 1865.

William Allen, mustered out July 18, 1805, from Veteran Res. Corps.

William R. Ryan, mustered out June 19, 1865.

COMPANY E.
Cyrus A. Pierce, mustered out June 24, 1865.

TWENTY-SIXTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Evander H. Kellogg, dischargee! for disability October 2, 1863.

COMPANY B.

Fred'k Chase, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Feb. 15, 1863.
William Y. Cole, died of disease at Salisbury, N. C, Feb. 28, 1865.
Edward C. Crane, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Oct. 17, 1864.
Chas. Binding, discharged for disability March 23, 1865.
Surgeon Ennis Church, resigned July 22, 1863.

TWENTY-SEVENTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

SECOND INDEPENDENT COMPANY SHARP-SHOOTERS, AT-
TACHED TO TWENTY-SEVENTH INFANTRY.
COMPANY C.

Levander Cady, mustered out July 26, 1865.
John Dion, mustered out July 26, 1865.

COMPANY E.
John McDermott, died of disease, Richmond,Va., in prison, April 11, 1864.
Sylvester Kinney, died of disease at City Point, Va.
John Stible, mustered out JuJ^ 26, 1865.
Henry Wilbur, mustered out July 26, 1865.

TWENTY-EIGHTH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.

COMPANY A.

Capt. Norris J. Frink, promoted major; mustered out of regiment.
1st lieut. Shubel F. White, promoted capt.; mustered out of regiment.
2d lieut. Geo. H. Granger, promoted 1st lieut. ; mustered out of regt.
Sergt.-maj. Geo. H. Penniman. mustered out of regiment.
Maj. Geo. T. Shafer, promoted lieut. col.; mustered out of regiment.
Lieut. Wm. Sears.
Lieut. Wm. Elkerton.

Henry Collincott, died of dis., Kingston, N. C, accid'ly shot, May 11, 1866.
Robert Coleman, died of disease, Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 20, 1865.
William II. King, died of disease, Raleigh, N. C, March 12, 1866.
Merritt Lovell, died of disease, Nashville, Tenn., January 8, 1865.
Thos. Munson, died of disease, Charlotte, N. C, June 7, 1865.
Andrew J. Stephens, died of disease, Alexandria, Va., Feb. 17, 1865.
Albert H.Williams, died of disease, Nashville, January 12, 1865.
Edward Follett, died of disease, David's Island, N. Y., May 18, 1865
George F. Wislogee, mustered out May 18, 1865.
Thos. W. Fegles, mustered out May 18, 1865.

206

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

William S. Bait, mustered out June 26, 1865.
Henry A. Wol worth, mustered out May 31, 1865.
Hugh McRoberts, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Seth King, mustered out May 29, 1865.
Orson Findley, mustered out June 13, 1866.
Jewell N. Aiken, mustered out June 3, 1865.
Nathan Baker, discharged by order April 26, 1866.
Henry Beardsley, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Norman H. Bennett, discharged by order June 6,1865.
Henry Blashfteld, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
John Batchley, mustered out June 20, 1865.
Harvey Burns, mustered out June 5, 1865.
Bart em us Case, mustered out May 30, 1865.
Sheldon Converse, mustered out June 16, 1865.
Joseph A. Cook, discharged for disability June 26, 1865.
Phineas Dodge, mustered out September 13, 1865.
Abraham Duboys, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Gerald D. Engle, discharged by order June 20, 1865.
Orrin S. Evay, mustered out July 18, 1865.
Lemuel Fiudley, mustered out June 5, 1866.
John Gillman, mustered out March 16, 1866.
Thomas Haskell, mustered out August 19, 1865.
John W. Hills, mustered out August 9, 1865.
Gasachar McClintic, mustered out May 31, 1865.
Horace G. Mcintosh, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Alfred Putnam, mustered out October 1, 1865.
William Redman, mustered out May 27,1865.
Albert S. Stinson, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Nathan Thompson, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Lorenzo Van Guelder, mustered out June 4, 1865.

COMPANY B.
Fred'k A. Beckwith, mustered out May 27, 1865.
John French, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Granger S. Anson, discharged by order September 13, 1865.
John A. Burch, mustered out June 3, 1865.
Seth Carpenter, mustered out June 7, 1865.
Daniel L. Emerson, mustered out June 5, 1865.
Samuel Elleton, discharged for disability June 29, 1865.
Levi Evans, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Horace Leslie, mustered out March 7, 1866.
Fred'k C. Mason, mustered out November 13, 1865.
Ezra M. Packer, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Cornelius Sinclair, mustered out June 4, 1865.
Henry Valiant, mustered out June 5, 1865.
L. B. Williams, mustered out August 5, 1866.
Nelson B. House, mustered out May 30, 1865.
John Johnson, drowned at sea January 23, 1865.
Homer Myers, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., January 25, 1865.
L. H. Demond, discharged at expiration of service February 21, 1866.
Williams H. Rhodes, discharged at expiration of service Feb. 21, 1866.

COMPANY C.
Carl Steinkram, discharged at expiration of service February 22, 1866.
Wesley W. McClintic, discharged at expiration of service Feb. 22, 1866.
Gottleib Bodke, discharged at expiration of service February 22, 1866.
Chas. H. Kreiger, discharged at expiration of service Feb. 22, 1866.
Aug. Creigo, discharged at expiration of service February 22, 1866.
Ferdinand Steinkram, discharged at expiration of service Feb. 22, 1866.
August Reichow, discharged at expiration of service February 22, 1866.
Philo M. Newberry, mustered out November 14, 1865.
Charles H. Felton, mustered out June 12, 1865.
Geo. R. Atkinson, died of disease at Raleigh, N. C, Maj r 10, 1865.
John Maquus, died of disease at Greensb.oro', N. C, May 23, 1865.

COMPANY D.
John Keenan, sentenced to two years' hard labor by gen'l court-martial.
Frank Mallon, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Byron A. Proseus, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Stephen Riley, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Jacob Schelenburger, mustered out June 5, 1866.
Henry A. Wadsworth, mustered out May 30, 1865.
Togabert Emmett, mustered out June 15, 1865.

COMPANY F.
Isaac Flowers, mustered out June 15, 1865.
James W. Dakin, discharged for disability April 28, 1865.
Theodore Huntley, mustered out June 5, 1866.
William T. Smith, mustered out August 9, 1865.
Ernest J. Sherman, mustered out July 10, 1865.

Josiah Griswold, died of disease at Louisville, Ky., November 14, 1864.
Abel B. Polhemus, died of disease at Louisville, Ky., Feb. 27, 1865.
H. Myers, died of disease at Newbern, N. C, April 13, 1866.
R. Harrison, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., January 9, 1865.

COMPANY I.
Charles H. Hooker, mustered out April 13, 1865.
Albert Rinehart, mustered out June 5, 1866.

COMPANY K.

John G. Estell, mustered out May 22, 1865.
Daniel J. Spencer, mustered out September 13, 1865.
Albert R. Neville, mustered out June 5, 1866.
William McGraw, mustered out June 15, 1865.
Frank C. Whipple, mustered out June 5, 1866.
William H. Spence, mustered out June 8,1865.
John D. Shafer, mustered out May 10, 1865.

THIETIETH MICHIGAN INFANTRY.
COMPANY F,

George Sullivan, mustered out June 30, 1865,
Alva H. Wood, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Charles H. Scott, mustered out June 30, 1865.

FIRST REGIMENT ENGINEERS AND MECHANICS,

Lieutenant Lucius F. Ashley.

Captain Ferdinand Bough tou.

Lieutenant Alphonso McMaster.

Lieutenant Carlton Peck.

Lieutenant Edward H. Lewis.

Lieutenant Jerome S. Prentiss.

Lieutenant-Colonel Kreisman A. Hunton, discharged with regment.

Asst. Surg". Willoughby O'Donoghue, surg., discharged with regiment.

Adjutant Clement F. Miller.

Captain John B. Yates, colonel, mustereil out September 22, 1865.

Assistant surgeon Robt. H. King, mustered out September 22, 1865.

Assistant surgeon Henry Van Ostrand, mustered out Sept. 22, 1862.

COMPANY A.
1st lieutenant Fred. W. Huxford, dismissed July 17, 1862.
2d lieutenant Horace C. Gibson, resigned December 25, 1862.
James L. Campbell, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., April 2, 1862.
Ellis George, died of disease at Bowling Green, Ky., June 6, 1862.
Thomas Jenkinson, died of disease at Huntsville, Ala., May 1, 1862.
Chas. H. Tichenor, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 30, 1862.
William Moore, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 16, 1862.
William Harvey, discharged for disability August 12,1862.
Philetus W. Waldron, discharged for disability.
Samuel D. Jacket, discharged for disability October 13, 1862.
Edward Watersen, discharged for disability November 17, 1862.
Henry S. Green, discharged for disability October 13, 1862.
George H. Green, discharged for disability November 6, 1862.
Chas. P. Greenman, discharged for disability October 28, 1862.
Chas. J. Wind, died at Nashville, Tenn., of wounds, January 2, 1863.
John D. Hunt, killed at Murfreesboro', Tenn., July 14, 1863.
Wm. C. Harrison, discharged for disability December 19, 1862.
Morris McHurd, discharged for disability May 14, 1863.
Magordos Farrand, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., April 26, 1804.
John Brownell, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
Alfred Bunn, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
Stafford Ellis, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
James Gundee, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
C. C. Jackett, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
Wilson Wakelin, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
David C. Albro, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
W. Waterman, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
Valphrase Bunn, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
Geo. L. Gildersleeve, mustered out at Nashville, September 22, 1865.
Zachariah York, discharged for old age June 16, 1862.
Bradford Gragg, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
James A. Gordon, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
David W. Gibbs, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
Solomon Gale, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
George Miller, discharged by order June 6, 1865.

Francis Maginnis, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Edgar Schermerhorn, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
Frederick Kimtner, discharged by order June 30, 1865.
Raycide Mosh«r, mustered out at Nashville, September 22, 1865.
Thomas Moore, mustered out at Nashville, September 22, 1865.
Edgar Win ton, mustered out at Nashville, September 22. 1865.
Cyrenius S. Barnes, mustered out at Nashville, September 22, 1865.
Philomon D. Barnes, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
Edward H. Lewis, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 1,1864.
Alphonzo McMaster, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 1, 1864.
George L. Gildersleeve, disch. to re-enlist as veteran January 1, 1864.
James Gondie, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 1, 1864.
Charles J. Mingo, died at Nashville, Tenn., of wounds, January 2, 1863.
Lucius F. Ashley, 1st lieutenant, mustered out October 26, 1864.

COMPANY B.

George W. Frame, discharged for disability May 27, 1862.
Anson Hough, died of disease, Savannah, Ga., May 2, 1865.
Cyrenius S. Barns, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 1, 1864.

COMPANY C.
Nathan D. Robinson, died of disease, Corinth, Miss., May 24, 1862.
Ralph S. Gordaw, discharged for disability October 30, 1862.
Ezra B. French, discharged for disability October 28, 1862.
Daniel Vanvalin, discharged for disability November 25, 1862.
George W. Garfield, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
Andrew F. Ames, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
Charles M. Nichols, discharged by order July 7, 1865.
Daniel Rozelle, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
James Wardell, discharged for disability April 22, 1865.
Benjamin Barber, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 2, 1864.

COMPANY D.

Jacob Weldon, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Richard Luby, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Addison C. Stanton, discharged for disability June 10, 1864.
Jacob Welden, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 2, 1864.

COMPANY E.
Levi C. Alton, discharged for disability August 21, 1862.
James Wilkinson, sergeant, died.

William B. Alton, discharged for disability August 21, 1862.
James Wilmine, discharged for disability January 5, 1863.
Franklin, Hogle, missing at Tallahoma, Tenn., October, 1863; supposed

captured by guerrillas.
A. B. Calver, 2d lieut. ; promoted to 1st lieut ; resigned Jan. 8, 1864.
Alonzo Jennings, discharged by order June 6, 1866.
Charles M. Durand, transferred to 5th Bat. Mich. Art. Dec. 13, 1861.
George M. Miller, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22,1865.

COMPANY G.
Elon Abbott, died of disease at Lebanon, Ky., March 15, 1862.
George M. Knowles, died of disease at Lebanon, Ky., 1862.
Edgar Knowles, killed at Nashville, April 19, 1863.
Charles Collins, discharged for disability.
Michael Ryan, discharged for disability September 20, 1862.
Parkhurst Clark, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
John B. Burke, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.

Charles L. Cart, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
David Whaling, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January, 1864.
David Whaling, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22. 1865.
Daniel V. Hazzard, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 22, 1865.
Charl s Broadwell, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 22, 1865.
Titus 1>. Eggleston, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 22, 1865.

COMPANY H.
Wm. A. T.oumis, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 22, 1865.
Manuid C. Kinch, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
Henry Kinch, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 27, 1865.
Benj. F. Taylor, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.

COMPANY I.
Andrew L. Scott, discharged for disability July 7, 1862.
Jacob Whitcomb, discharged for disability August 26, 1862.
James Hogan, discharged for disability January 14, 1864.

COMPANY K.
Capt. E. O. Crittenton, major, discharged with regiment.
2d lieut. J. Newton Crittenton, 1st lieut. Sept. 3, 1864 ; resigned Sept.

14, 1865.
Ord. sergt. Cyrus M. Curtis, 2d and 1st lieut. ; capt. ; res'd June 22, 1865.
2d lieut. William Bettinghouse, 1st lieut., must, out at ex. of service.
Sergt. Daniel Ross, 2d lieut., mustered out with regiment.
Capt. Ferdinand Boughton, Co. — , mustered out September 22, 1865.
1st lieut. Alonzo McMaster, Co. — , mustered out September 22, 1865.
John Cusher, discharged for disability March 17, 1864.
Eni G. Wells, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
Samuel Green, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
Levi A. Jackett, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
Ransler Peling, discharged at expiration of service October 31, 1864.
Ira Hunt, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 14, 1864.
Oliver H. Buckley, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 31, 1863.
George D. Frink, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 31, 1863.
David Henry, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 31, 1863.
Thomas Lockton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 31, 1863.
William C. Riley, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 31, 1863.
Chauncey Westbrook, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 31, 1S63.
Charles N. Heath, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 31. 1863.
Hiram Linscott, killed at Chattanooga October 9, 1863.
Levi L. Sutliff, discharged for disability January 6, 1863.
G;30. W. Bromer, discharged for disability December 22, 1862.
Jas. H. Bailey, discharged for disability March 14, 1863.
Geo. A. Cook, discharged for disability February 18, 1863.
John Borst, discharged for disability April 24, 1863.
Dayton Wright, discharged for disability January 24, 1863.
John C. Wilbur, discharged for disability May 5, 1863.
Lyman Wright, discharged for disability June 11, 1863.
David Stillwell, discharged for disability July 1, 1863.
Chas. J. Bottem, discharged for disability August 6, 1863.
Sergt. Jos. Wilkinson, died of disease at Chattanooga, Tenn., May 6, '64.
Alfred Starks, died of disease at Chattanooga, Tenn., May 24, 1864.
Geo. B. Brown, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., September 17, 1862.
Michael Ames, discharged for disability May 21, 1862.
Bradford Carter, discharged for disability June 3, 1862.
Jas. M. Knickerbocker, discharged for disability June 5, 1862.
Albert A. Selleck, discharged for disability June 10, 1862.
Jas. B. Tilton, discharged for disability.
John R. Wilbur, discharged for disability.
Geo. B. Hurlburt, discharged for disability November 7, 1862.
Franklin M. Chittenden, discharged for disability December 8, 1862.
Aaron C. Putnam, discharged for disability May 30, 1862.
Charles B. Smith, discharged for disability June 10, 1862.
Geo. D. Frink, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Geo. Judevtne, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Ira Hunt, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
William Hedden, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Thomas Lockton, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Wm. C. Riley, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Chauncey Westbrook, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 22, 1865.
Oliver H. Buckley, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 22, 1865.
Jas. A. Ervay, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
David Henry, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
David Bochman, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Warren Curtendall, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 22, 1865.
German S. Dewitt, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 22, 1865.
Sidney H. Edgerton, discharged by order June 6, 1862.
Charles S. Gilbert, discharged by order June 6, 1862.
Loren Parmlee, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
Otis B. Rowley, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
Jas. Robertson, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Levi L. Sutliff, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
James W. Wiley, discharged by order June 6, 1865.
Chas. N. Heath, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.
Henry Heath, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., September 22, 1865.

COMPANY L.
Morris M. Comstock, mustered out at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 22, 1865.
Wm. Miller, killed at Nashville, Tennessee, September 25, 1863.
Norton Rice, killed at Harpeth River, Tenn., October 9, 1863.
Job T. Bunn, killed by explosion of steamer " Sultana" April 27, 1864.

FIRST MICHIGAN CAVALRY.
COMPANY A.

Alex. C. More, died of disease at Ft. Kearney, Neb. Ter., July 17, 1865.

Loud Renzi, discharged for promotion February 6, 1864.

Loren C. Green, mustered out December 5, 1865.

John Herrington, mustered out December 5, 1815.

Levi R. Mills, mustered out December 5, 1865.

Chas. H. Whitbeck, mustered out December 5, 1865.

John Paul, mustered out March 10, 1866.

Albert Carey, mustered out February 16, 1866.

John Clementson, mustered out March 10, 1866.

Benj. B. Cook, mustered out March 10, 1866.

John R. Cook, mustered out May 10, 1866.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

207

Delos Fabrick, mustered out May 10, 1866.

Wm. C. Shepley, mustered out March 10, 1866.

Jos. Stack, mustered out March 10, 1866.

Chas. Mulfly, mustered out March 10, 1866.

Wm. A. Dulbridge, mustered out March 9, 1866.

Isaac N. Lamb, mustered out March 27, 1866.

Geo. G. Osborn, discharged for disability, January 6, 1863.

COMPANY B.
Jos. Leary, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Pierre Mitchell, mustered out June 12, 1865.
D. McNeil, discharged by order, January 11, 1866.
Alanson B. Woodcock, discharged by order July 15, 1865.
Daniel Eastman, mustered out March 10, 1866.
John Miller, mustered out March 10, 1866.
Sextus W. Van Horn, mustered out March 5, 1866.
Warren Smith, mustered out March 10, 1866.
Geo. Smith, mustered out March 10, 1866.
Arthur D. Smith, mustered out March 10, 1866.

COMPANY C.
Geo. W. Ackley, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Geo. Huggatt, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Casper G. Herrington, discharged by order February 28. 1866.
John H. Bills, discharged at expiration of service March 5, 1866.
Wm. Barnett, mustered out July 10, 1865.
Geo. H. Culver, mustered out March 5, 1866.
llobt. A. Dobson, mustered out July 24, 1865.
Daniel W. Lefevre, mustered out March 10, 1866.

COMPANY D.
Alanson B. Woodcock, mustered out March 8, 1866.
Alson Evans, mustered out April 14, 1866.
Sam'l E. Fisher, mustered out April 14, 1866.
John C. Tompson, mustered out April 14, 1866.
Morris E. Wright, mustered out March 10, 1866.
Wm. Lee, mustered out March 10, 1866.

COMPANY E.
Henry Brown, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Henry D. White, mustered out May 11, 1866.

COMPANY F.
P. R. Berringer, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Nathan Gibbs, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Philetus Lapham, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Elias Manchester, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Chas. E. Manchester, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Sam'l Matthews, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Henry Miller, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Henry March, discharged by order June 7, 1865.
Timothy Suon, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Mason Sutherland, mustered out December 5,1865.
N. H. Winans, discharged by order June 17, 1865.
Albert Wing, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Irving Lekie, mustered out April 24, 1866.

COMPANY H.
Fred'k Flahart, mustered out March 25, 1866.
Jas. A. Murphy, mustered out July 7, 1865.
John H. Morgan, mustered out March 25, 1866.

COMPANY I.
Hiram Sherman, discharged for disability, December 8, 1861.
Agamain Leonard, mustered out March 10, 1866.
Alexander McKenzie, mustered out March 10, 1866.
Milo A. Morton, mustered out March 10, 1866.
Charles A. Stevens, mustered out February 8, 1866.

COMPANY K.
David Brown, mustered out December 4, 1865.
John P. Brown, discharged for disability May 3, 1865.
Homer J. Paul, mustered out March 31, 1866.
Elmer Sweet, mustered out March 31, 1866.

COMPANY L.
Robert Nevern, mustered out December 5, 1865.
Henry C. Rowley, mustered out June 14, 1865.

COMPANY M.
Elias Murray, killed at Yellow Tavern, Va., May 11, 1864.
Cyrus A. Bateman, killed August 11, 1864.
William Quigley, mustered out March 25, 1866.
Thomas J. Crandall, mustered out February 15, 1866.
Henry M. Baker, mustered out June 30, 1866.
Thomas Harvey, mustered out May 11, 1866.
Pardon Marshall, mustered out June 30, 1866.

SECOND MICHIGAN CAVALRY.

Lieutenant Frank M. Eaton.
Lieutenant Henry Woodruff.

COMPANY B.

Joseph B. Lamaine, mustered out August 17, 1865.
Emery Rivard, mustered out June 20, 1865.

COMPANY D.
James Phillips, mustered out August 30, 1865.
John Ashley, mustered out August 17, 1865.
James C. Lewis, mustered out June 20, 1865.
John Perrigo, died at Andersonville, Georgia, May 24, 1864.
O. N. Udall, missing at Dandridge, Tennessee, December 24, 1863.
Garrett Van Hatten, missing at Bent Church, Georgia, May 30, 1864.

COMPANY H.

Michael Enos, died at Jeffersonville, Indiana, December 26, 1864.

COMPANY I.
George R. Davey, discharged for disability March 25, 1863.
Wesley G. Clapp, discharged at expiration of service October 22, 1864.
William Crittenden, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,

mustered out August 17, 1865.
Mortimer L. Chittenden, discharged for disability October 27, 1862.
Daniel P. Rice, discharged for disability November 7, 1862.

COMPANY L.

William Ford, mustered out June 22, 1865.

Henry A. Wymer, mustered out August 17, 1865.

Jacob Snider, died at Nashville, April 12, 1864, of wounds.

COMPANY M.

Major S. H. Gorham, lieutenant-colonel, and resigned.

Captain Frank W. Dickey; major; resigned.

1st lieut. Abram D. Van Gordon; captain; resigned.

2d lieut. Thos. W. Johnson; 1st lieut.; capt. Aug. 1, '62; col.; disch.

with regiment.
Sergt. Peter A. Schuyler ; reg. adjt. ; capt. ; resigned September 20, 1864.
Sergt. Alonzo E. Gordon ; bat. adjt. ; capt.; resigned June 6, 1864.
Sergt. Russell T. Darrow ; 2d lieut. ; killed at Cypress river, Ala., Oct.

7, 1864.
Sergt. H. M. Hempstead; 2d lieut. March 1, 1864; capt.; mustered out

with regiment.
Charles H. Whitman, died at Nashville, March 6, 1864, drowned.
Silas Dean, killed at Chattanooga, Tenn., June 28, 1864.
Frank Sidney, missing at Chickamauga, Tenn., September 20, 1864.
James Kunn, taken prisoner at Dandridge, Tenn., December 24, 1863.
Charles H. Potter, taken prisoner at Dandridge, Tennessee, December

24, 1863, and died at Savannah in captivity.
Nathan Boyce, taken prisoner at Powder Springs, Ga., June 28, 1864,

mustered out July 3, 1865.

E. W. Aguew, discharged at expiration of service October 22, 1864.
James Smith, discharged for disability March 16, 1864.

Charles Ackley, discharged at expiration of service October 22, 1864.
A. Buckingham, discharged at expiration of service October 22, 1864.

A. Boyce, discharged at expiration of service October 22, 1864.

B. Gaines, discharged at expiration of service October 22, 1864.

C. D. Phipps, discharged at expiration of service October 22, 1864.

F. A. Pratt, discharged at expiration of service October 22, 1864.
Benjamin F. Smith, discharged at expiration of service October 22, 1864.
George E. Corbin, discharged for disability August 13, 1863.

George Davis, discharged.

Chauncey Alexander, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,

mustered out August 17, 1865.
David Berringer, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Richard Brown, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Henry Hemstead, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
James H. Howey, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Garrett E. Hall, discharged to re-enlist a»s veteran January 5, 1864.
Lucius Johnson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Rufus Bratt, died of disease June 3, 1862.

David B. Francher, died of disease at Farmington, Miss., May 12, 1862.
George Jenks, died of disease at New Madrid, Mo., April 13, 1862.
Dan. Murdock, died of disease at Rienzi, July 15, 1862.
Marion Boyce, died of disease at Keokuk, August 14, 1862.
Charles Ploof, died of disease in Michigan, August, 1862.
James Harrington, discharged for disability June 20, 1862.
George A. Tyler, discharged for disability September 13, 1862.
Marcus Williams, discharged for disability September 9, 1862.
Ira A. Hutchinson, discharded for disability September 13, 1862.
Dewitt C. Abell, discharged for disability August 22, 1862.
A. Davidson, discharged for disability October 16, 1862.
Lagrand Dean, discharged for disability October 17, 1862.
George Hudson, discharged for disability October 17, 1862.
J. Rosebeck, discharged for disability October 4, 1862.
Joseph T. Sykes, discharged for disability November 21, 1862.
Alonzo D. Austin, discharged for disability October 16, 1862.
Sylvanus McLain, discharged for disability January 30, 1863.
James Johnson, discharged for disability November 7, 1862.
Horatio A. McKee, discharged for disability November 10, 1862.
John Smith, discharged for disability March 1, 1863.
Veit Heidiiiger, discharged for disability April 3, 1863.
Abraham Moser, killed at Severnville, Tenn., January 27, 1864.

G. E. Hall, killed at Florence, Ala., September 7, 1864.

Russell T. Darrow, 2d lieut., killed at Martin's MiLs, Ala., Oct. 7, 1864.

Richard S. Brown, died of disease in Michigan September 7, 1864.

William H. Williams, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 8, 1864.

Henry Walker, died of disease at Detroit, Mich., October 7, 1864.

John Marsh, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864, mus-
tered out August 17, 1865.

John Myers, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864, mustered
out August 17, 1865.

James Usborn, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864, mus-
tered out August 30, 1865.

Erastus Reynolds, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,
mustered out August 15, 1865.

Lorentz Stampfles, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,
mustered out August 17, 1865.

Emery R. Struble, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,
mustered out August 17, 1865.

Charles E. Tone, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,
mustered out June 28, 1865.

Henry Woodruff, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Franklin Wallace, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,
mustered out August 17, 1865.

Johnson Wait, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

William Watz, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864, mus-
tered out June 20, 1865.

William Kidney, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Stephen W. Sleeter, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,

mustered out August 17, 1865.
Norman Hotchkiss, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

mustered out August 17, 1865.
Gabriel Smith, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Franklin N. Eaton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 186*.
Thos. Sutherland, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Patrick Dooley, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Samuel E. Markle, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Jauuary 5, 1864.
Martin L. Squier, discharged to re-enlist as veterau January 5, 1864.
Albert M. Spaulding, died of wounds September 23, 1863.
Charles H. Potter, died of wounds at Belle Island, Va.
Benj. F. Allen, died at Nashville, Tenn., September 11, 1864.
Jacob Miller, died at Camp Chase, Ohio, July 21, 1863.
Chas. Herrington, transferred to 3d Michigan Cavalry, November 1, 1861.
Lewis Waterman, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps.
Jonathan Wade, mustered out June 21, 1865.

Frank Sweeney, discharged at expiration of service January 26, 1865.
James H. Howey, mustered out August 17, 1865.
Watt Johnson, mustered out August 17, 1865.
Jos. Keemer, discharged at expiration of service January 26, 1865.
Daniel Barringer, mustered out August 31, 1865.
Samuel Markle, mustered out August 30, 1865.
Patrick Dooley, mustered out June 20, I860.
Lucius Johnson, discharged for promotion.
William Kidney, mustered out August 17, 1865.

Chauncey R. Hayes, mustered out (18 mouths prisoner) June 21, 186-5.
Alexander H. Darrows, mustered out Juue 14, 1865.
Charles F. Walters, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Emanuel Miller, mustered out August 17, 1865.
John Raill, discharged for disability Juue 28, 1865.

THIRD MICHIGAN CAVALRY.

Lieutenant Oscar H. Bingham, dead.

COMPANY A.
Perry Havens, discharged for disability April 6, 1863.
Hillard Mench, discharged at expiration of service October 24, 1864.
John P. Thomas, mustered out September 7, 1863.

COMPANY B.
William H. Bevens, discharged for disability February 23, 1863.
Watson H. Beaver, discharged at expiration term service Oct. 9, 1865.
Jefferson Chapman, mustered out February 12, 1866.

COMPANY D.

Orlando Colby, died of disease at Lagrange January 12, 1863.
Hezekiah Andrus, died of d.sease at Lagrange August 3, 1863.
Francis W. Hustin, died at expiration term of service Nov. 9, 1865.
Benjamin Brady, died at expiration term of service November 9, 1865.
William H. Wiselodye, died at expiration term of service, Nov. 9, 1865.

COMPANY E.
Everett Burlinghams, mustered out February 12, 1866.
Calvin Halliday, discharged for disability December 18, 1864.
William F. Firo, mustered out February 12, 1866.

COMPANY F.

Joel Kochel, mustered out February 12, 1866.

Martin Markham, discharged for promotion June 25, 1863.

Charles Harrington, discharged for disability June 1, 1862.

COMPANY H.
William A. Sweet, mustered out February 12, 1866.

COMPANY I.
William A. Sweet, Jr., discharged to re-enlist as veteran, Jan. 19, 1864.

COMPANY L.
William Lewis, died of disease, St. Louis, Missouri, June 24, 1862.
Cheney McCamby, discharged to re-enhst as veteran Jan. 19,1864.
Chauncey McCamley, mustered out February 12, 186U.
Sanford J. Ransom, mustered out February 12, 1866.

COMPANY M.
William Dye, mustered out February 12, 1866.
Donald C. Henderson, discharged for disability October 22, 1865.

FOURTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY.

Lieutenant Theodore W. Sutton, dead.

COMPANY A.
William W. Wheeler, discharged by order July 10, 1865.
William H. Wines, mustered out August 15, 1865.

COMPANY I.
Luke M. Thayer, mustered out July 1, 1865.
Franklin Eaton, mustered out July 1, 1865.
Charles Craig, mustered out July 1, 1865.
Charles H. Hall, discharged by order August 28, 1865.
First lieutenant Robert Burns.

Ashel Sechler, died of disease at Nashville January 12, 1863..
A. N. Seclar, died of disease at Nashville, February 3, 1863.
S. E. Hewitt, discharged for disability January 1, 1863.
D. C. Dolph, discharged for disability March 25, 1863.
Benjamin F. Packard, discharged for disability March 14, 1863.

COMPANY L.

Allen M. Ford, killed at Noonday creek, Georgia, June 20, 1864.

COMPANY M.
Joseph B. Bailey, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps April 30, 1864*

FIFTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY.

Second lieutenant Wm. W. Hunnaston, mustered out June 22, 1865.

COMPANY A.
John Miller, transferred to 7th Michigan Cavalry

208

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

COMPANY C.
Patrick Haggerty, transferred to 7th Michigan Cavalry.
Padue Marshal, transferred to 7th Michigan Cavalry.
John Rogers, transferred to 7th Michigan Cavalry.
Henry E. Moore, mustered out June 22, 1865.
Dwight B. Pendleton, discharged for promotion October 17, 1863.
George P. Townsend, mustered out June 22, 1865.

COMPANY E.
Henry Brown, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry.
Henry D. White, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry.

COMPANY I.

William R. Carey, transferred to 7th Michigan Cavalry.

COMPANY K.
James G. Howard, mustered out June 23, 1865.

COMPANY L.
George Esch, discharged for disability December 15, 1863.

COMPANY M.
Caswell Barber, transferred to 7th Michigan Cavalry.
Isham Grimes, mustered out June 23, 1865.

SIXTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY.

Lieutenant Hiram F. Hale.

COMPANY A.

John Rose, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry November 17, 1865.
Arthur D. Smith, transf 'd to 1st Michigan Cavalry November 17, 1865.
Roswell 0. Doty, mustered out July 21, 1865.

COMPANY B.

John D. Thompson, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Morris E. W. Wright, transf 'd to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Alson Evans, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry November 17, 1865.
Samuel E. Fisher, tranferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.

COMPANY C.
Irving Lehy, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry November 17, 1865.
Chester M. Goodrich, tranferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
William Lee, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry November 17, 1865.
Adelbert Clark, mustered out July 27, 1865,
Chas. J. Miller, mustered out July 10, 1865.
D. M. P. Lunk, discharged December 5, 1864.

COMPANY D.

William Quigley, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.

COMPANY F.
Foster D. Miller, killed at Lexington, Missouri, June 6, 1865.
Homer J. Paul, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Elmer Sweet, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry November 17, 1865.
Alfred Shepherd, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Perrin M. Peck, mustered out November 24, 1865.

COMPANY G.

Frank Roor, killed at Alexandria, Virginia, April 11, 1864.
George W. Clark, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Charles H. Stevens, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
John H. Cliff, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry November 17, 1865.
Thos. J. Crandall, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Angevine Leonard, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Alex. McRenzio, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Milo A. Morton, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.

COMPANY H.

Christopher Pickle, mustered out August 2, 1865.

COMPANY I.
David Harrington, mustered out December 6, 1865.

COMPANY K.
John M. Dingman, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Frederick Flatrant, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
John H. Morgan, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
William Edwins, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Abraham Leonard, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
James A. Murphy, mustered out July 7, 1865.

COMPANY L.

> John C. Gore, mustered out November 24, 1865.
William Gore, mustered out July 26, 1865.
Joel Joslyn, mustered out November 24, 1865.
John L. Main, mustered out November 24, 1865.
Jesse D.Webster, mustered out November 24, 1865.
Geo. H. Van Force, died at Andersonville, Georgia, September 27, 1864,

while a prisoner.
Geo. M. Hosmer, died of disease, Washington, January 31, 1863.

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Miles H. Seeley, mustered out November 23, 1865.

SEVENTH MICHIGAN CAVALUY.

Sergeant Chas. 0. Pratt, promoted 1st lieutenant and adjutant.

Lieutenant Calvin C. House.

Captain James B. Loomis.

Lieutenant Chas. M. Holton.

Captain Frastus B. Crocker.

Lieutenant Henry L. Anthony.

COMPANY A.

Charles Wilcox, missing at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1863.

Horace Brownell, missing at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1863.

J. W. Luke, killed at Hawes' Shop, Virginia, May 11, 1864.

0. H. Adams, killed at Trevillian, Virginia, May 11, 1864.

J. P. Walling, died of disease, Baltimore, Maryland, June, 1864.

John Col ten, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps July 1, 1863.

John Conlin, discharged for disability December 4, 1863.

John Janeson, discharged for disability April 30, 1863.

James Jones, discharged for disability March 31, 1862.

Edwin Dumphrey, died of wounds September 19, 1864.

Randall P. Bradly, died of disease at Washington April 10, 1863.

Sidney S. Pierce, died of disease at Richmond, Virginia, February 11,

1864, while a prisoner.
Joseph Springer, died of disease at Andersonville, Georgia, October 8,

1864, while a prisoner.
Daniel Mingo, died of disease at Richmond, Virginia, February 8, 1864.
Daniel Eastman, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Henry L. Anthony, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Jos. Burlingham, discharged January 7, 1863.
Alonzo Brimingstool, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Rufus Burs, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Charles W. Bonn ell, mustered out December 15, 1865.
William D. Davis, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Horace N. C. Ewing, mustered out July 13, 1865.
James Edwards, mustered out December 15, 1865.
John H. Fisher, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Putnam M. Fisk, mustered out December 15, 1865.
John F. Fry, discharged November 10, 1862.
Giles B. Hathaway, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Peter Horck, mustered out December 15, 1865.
George F. Harvey, mustered out June 7, 1865.
Oscar Hunt, mustered out December 15, 1865.
William H. H. Wright, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Marian L. Nichols, mustered out June 7, 1865.
Gilbert Pinnie, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Ray P. Streeter, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Marcus D. Wheeler, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Zepheniah Wizner, mustered out December 15, 1865.
O. C. Corning, mustered out June 24, 1865.
George A. Welton, mustered out July 17, 1865.
James Eddy, mustered out July 24, 1865.

COMPANY B.
Casper G. Herrington, transferred to 1st Mich. Cav. November 17, 1865.
William R. Carey, transferred to 1st Mich. Cav. November 17, 1865.

COMPANY C.

Abram H. Ellis, mustered out September 20, 1865.

John Miller, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry November 17, 1865.

COMPANY D.
John H. Bills, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry November 17, 1865.
George H. Culver, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Daniel W. Lafevre, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Henry C. Southworth, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Francis Johnson, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Edmund Harrington, mustered out January 3, 1866.
James A. Grant, mustered out January 3, 1866.
Albert Shotwell. mustered out December 15, 1865.

COMPANY E.
Francis Johnson, mustered out December 15, 1865.
James Greenleaf, mustered out July 17, 1865.
Charles Laugredge, mustered out July 17, 1865.
Edward C. Mack, mustered out July 17, 1865.
William Croman, killed at Washington, D. C, February 21, 1864.
John Flanigan, discharged for disability.

COMPANY F.

Edward F. Lewis, died of disease at Fairfax, Va., May 29, 1863.
Robert Horg, missing at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863.
Jay Blodgett, died of disease, Fairfax Conrt-House, Va., May 31, 1863.
William J. Kelley, died of disease, Fairfax C. H., Va., April 12, 1863.
Miles Riley, died of disease, Andersonville, Ga., Sept. 13, 1864, while a

prisoner.
Lextus N. Van Horn, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17,1865.
Clark H. Beardslee, mustered out November 21, 1865.
George A. Godsmark, mustered out November 21, 1865.
James G. Keyes, mustered out July 17, 1865.

COMPANY G.
Labon E. Barnhart, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Benjamin F. Broadwell, transferred to 1st Michigan Cav. Nov. 17, 1865.
Benjamin B. Cook, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
John H. Cook, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
William A. Delbridge, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
. Isaac M. Lamb, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
Charles Muffley, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
John Paul, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.
William C. Shapley, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.

COMPANY H.

Albert Gary, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.

John Clementson, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.

James H. Mingo, died of disease, Fort Collins, C. T., October 7, 1865.

David Foot, mustered out August 26, 1865.

Arthur Langman, mustered out July 17, 1865.

Edwin Annabel, discharged for disability June 13, 1865.

COMPANY I.

Alexander Laird, mustered out December 15, 1865.

Stephen McLary, mustered out December 15, 1865.

John W. Monagan, mustered out December 15, 1865.

Jerome A. Tomlinson, mustered out July 17, 1865.

Warren Gorham, mustered out July 24, 1865.

Charles Beckwith, mustered out December 15, 1865.

Benjamin F. Donaldson, discharged for disability December 3, 1865.

Benjamin Bennett, died of disease, Frederick, Md., August 9, 1863.

Lorimus A. Hall, died of disease, Washington, D. C, June 13, 1865.

John B. Bradley, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry* Nov. 17, 1865.

Caswell Barber, transferred to 1st Michigan Cavalry Nov. 17, 1865.

James J. Lewis, mustered out December 15, 1865.

John Rogers, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Delos W. Rider, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Mars Robinson, discharged July 10, 1865.
John Simon, mustered out December 15, 1865.
Charles Underdunk, mustered out July 3, 1865.
William P. Eddie, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Edward Blanchard, mustered out July 27, 1865.
Timothy P. Kelly, mustered out September 21, 1865.
Albert Weightman, discharged for disability July 2, 1865.
W. J. Olmstead, discharged for disability June 19, 1865.
William A. Lewis, mustered out December 8, 1865.
Victory C. Wattles, mustered out December 8, 1865.
John C. Hicks, mustered out December 8, 1865.
Avy Corey, mustered out December 8, 1865.
Henry Kennedy, mustered out December 8, 1865.
Joseph Muffley, mustered out December 8, 1865.
Frank Underdunk, muster#d out December 8, 1865.
William P. Stringham, mustered out December 8, 1865.
Josiah Wickard, mustered out December 8, 1865.

EIGHTH MICHIGAN CAVALRY.

Major Chester J. Murray.
Capt, Chas. E. Greble.
Lieut. Cornelius D. Crowley.
Lieut. Spencer Dibble.

COMPANY A.

1st Lieut. W. L. Buck, captain November 1, 1862; major; captured in
Stoneman raid (woundt-d), lieutenant-colonel ; mustered out with
regiment.

2d Lieut. Jas. A. Strong, promoted to captain 1863; major; mustered out
with regiment.

Ord. Sergt. J. B. Warner, promoted to 1st lieut. January 8, 1864 ; cap-
tured and wounded in Stoneman raid; captain; mustered out.

Sergt. Erwin Ellis, promoted to captain ; discharged on consolidation
with 11th Cavalry.

Robert Rogers, died of disease at Camp Nelson, Ky., Sept. 28, 1863.

Edwart Clint, discharged by order September 5, 1863.

William C. Clay, discharged by order September 5, 1863.

Wesley Randall, discharged by order, March, 1863.

Feradine Robinson, killed at Knoxville, Tenn., November 18, 1863.

Timbroke Baker, died of disease, Knoxville, Tenn., December 22, 1863.

Charles M. Crandall, died of disease, Lexington, Ky., April 16, 1864.

George Rapp, died of disease, Camp Nelson, Ky., September 1, 1863.

Nelson Davis, died of disease, Nicholasville, Ky., November 22, 1863.

Thomas J. Bush, died of disease, Nicholasville, Ky., November 22, 1863.

Davis E. Hadsall, died of disease, Southern prison, January 15, 1864.

Edwin M. Coville, died of disease, Southern prison, January 15, 1864.

J. F. Lemon, died of disease, Marietta, Ga., August 12, 1864.

Thos. J. Bush, died of disease, military prison, Andersonville, Ga., June
21, 1864.

J. B. Warner, prisoner on raid to Macon, Ga., August 3, 1864.

Sergt. James Reed, prisoner on raid to Macon, Ga., August 3, 1864.

John G. Bowers, prisoner on raid to Macon, Ga., August 3, 1864.

Erastus Rogers, prisoner on raid to Macon, Ga., August 3, 1864.

D. C. Robinson, prisoner on raid to Macon, Ga., August 3, 1864.

William Rogers, prisoner on raid to Macon, Ga., August 3, 1864.

John Connolly, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 1, 1864.

Abram D. Wykoff, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 1, 1864.

Rhesa York, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 15, 1864.

Matthew H. Alden, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Jan. 15, 1864.

Jos. Moyer, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 15, 1864.

William Nelson, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 1, 1864.

Emory J. Place, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 15, 1864.

George Trumball, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 15,1864.

Hiram 0. Brower, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 15, 1864.

Henry J. Black, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps January 15, 1864.

Andrew D. Hogle, discharged for disability December 25, 1863.

Vincent V. Covill, discharged for disability February 15, 1864.

Oren J. Courier, discharged by order December 3, 1863.

Edgar A. Kesslar, discharged for disability December 7, 1863.

John Robertson, discharged for disability August 12, 1863.

William Lanon, discharged for disability May 12, 1864.

Samuel Parish, discharged for disability February 4, 1863.

Wesley Randall, discharged for disability March 12, 1863.

Corp. John G. Bowers, died of disease, Annapolis, Md., January 1, 1865.

Orman Clayton, died of disease, Camp Nelson, Ky., December 9, 1864.

David E. Hadsted, died of disease, Andersonville, Ga., April 8, 1864.

Sergt. Joseph L. Smith, died of disease, Annapolis, Md., Jan. 1, 1865.

Hiram P. Wilbur, died of disease, Covington, Ky., June 5, 1863.

William E. Scott, died of disease at Camp Nelson, Ky., June 12, 1863.

Zephaniah White, died of disease at Chattanooga, Tenn., Dec. 3, 1864.

Benjamin Givens, missing at Henryville, Tenn., November 23, 1864.

Chester J. Murray, discharged for promotion March 9, 1865.

William H. Dunn, discharged for disability March 14, 1865.

John Roberts, discharged for disability August 12, 1863.

Henry P. Barden, discharged for promotion February 24, 1864.

William N. Wilder, discharged for disability May 14, 1865.

Charles E. Coon, mustered out May 22, 1865.

Edward McDaniels, discharged for disability May 29, 1865.

Mason F. Smith, discharged for disability June 6, 1865.

Charles W. Cook, discharged for disability June 23, 1865.

Albert Craig, mustered out September 18, 1865.

Sylvester Cunningham, mustered out June 13, 1865.

John Doty, discharged by order July 20, 1865.

George Fogle, mustered out June 13, 1865.

James D. Griffin, mustered out June 13, 1865.

Charles Hotchkiss, mustered out June 18, 1865.

Thomas Mason, mustered out November 10, 1865.

James Prior, discharged June 6, 1865.

Sylvester Raymond, discharged for disability June 6, 1865.

James H. Swift, discharged by order July 20, 1865.

Jacob Stamb, discharged for disability June 26, 1865.

George H. Showers, discharged July 15, 1865.

George O. Scott, mustered out May 26, 1865.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

209

Myron W. Wright, discharged for disability September 2, 1863.
Frazier Z. Walker, mustered out May 22, 1865.
William Lemon, discharged for disability May 12, 1864.
Egar Tuttle, discharged January 24, 1865.
George F. Brochtele, discharged by order November 24, 1865.
Orange D. Carrier, discharged for disability December 3, 1863.
Warren M. Cooley, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Peter Twomley, mustered out September 22, 1865.

COMPANY B.

Samuel Weller, killed at Blain's Cross-Roads, Tenn., December 14, 1863.

William H. Tillison, killed at Knoxville, Tenn., December 16, 1863.

W. H. Gates, killed at Knoxville, Tenn., December 15, 1863.

Kiren Foley, transferred to V. R. C, December 1, 1863.

William H. Reed, died of disease at Lexington, Ky., October 10, 1864.

William H. Harding, died of disease at Bowling Green, Ky., Dec. 20, 1864.

Ransom Weaver, missing at Knoxville, Tenn., December 22, 1863.

George W. Scott, discharged June 12, 1865.

Anthony Rogers, discharged by order July 20, 1865.

James G. Lynch, mustered out October 10, 1865.

Enos M. Burt, mustered out June 10, 1865.

James J. Bakes, mustered out September 22. 1865.

Peter Corby, mustered out October 2, 1865.

George W. Corby, mustered out September 22, 1865,

John Conroy, mustered out September 22, 1865.

James M. Dusenberry, mustered out September 22, 1865.

Orville Harris, mustered out September 22, 1865.

Edward Simpson, mustered out September 22, 1865.

Richard Quick, mustered out September 22, 1865.

COMPANY C.
James S. Blanchard, mustered out October 10, 1865.
Edwin Bradway, mustered out October 10, 1865.
Edward M. Fisk, mustered out September 22, 1865.
James Barnes, discharged for disability September 2, 1863.

COMPANY D.
Isaac Mills, died of disease November 26, 1864.
John Canfield, died of disease at Holsock, Mich., December 5, 1864.
James C. Kenedy, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., February 17, 1865.
Michael Tolbot, mustered out June 6, 1865.
Charles Bond, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Stephen Marsh, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Elijah Quellen, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Elisha Rhodes, mustered out September 22, 1865.

COMPANY E.
Christian Frink, mustered out September 22, 1865.
James Hall, mustered out September 22, 1865.
John Hoffman, mustered out September 22, 1865. (Erroneously reported

died of disease, by monthly report.)
Geo. E. Hogle, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Dewitt C. Hallock, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Jas. D. Henry, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Lorenzo E. Johnson, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Frederick Kuhn, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Frederick Miller, mustered out September 22, 1865.
William Morgan, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Dewitt C. Robinson, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Jared Root, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Augustus Reid, mustered out September 22, 1865.
James Smith, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Stephen Steel, mustered out September 22, 1865.
D. S. Shellenbarger, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Paul Waltz, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Frederick Waltz, mustered out September 22, 1865.
John C. Waltz, mustered out September 22, 1865.
William Waltz, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Henry Legger, mustered out June 23, 1865.
James B. Nichols., mustered out May 22, 1865.
Henry Seals, mustered out July 8, 1865.
Thos. Wells, mustered out August 31, 1865.
Fred'k Angle, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Geo. Burkson, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Andrew Brown, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Charles Bennett, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Charles Bailey, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Geo. Brekenshaw, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Arba M. Cook, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Wm. M. Crandall, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Lorenzo E. Dean, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Vauranseler Sessions, missing, Turner's Ferry, Ga., Sept. 27,1864.
Charles Ray, died at Mulberry Creek, Ga., of wounds, Aug. 3, 1864.
Nelson Davis, died of disease, Andersonville, Ga., November 21, 1864.
Spencer Dibble, missing, Henryville, Tenn., November 22, 1863.
Erastus Rogers, missing, Mulberry Creek, Ga., August 3, 1864.
Clifton H. Hodgeman, discharged for disability May 26, 1864.
James Harvey, discharged for disability June 30, 1863.
Wilson B. Moore, discharged.
Wm. W. Robinson, discharged.

COMPANY F.
James M. Chase, missing, Henryville, Tenn., November 23, 1864.
Chas. G. Whitehead, missing, Macon, Ga., August 3, 1864.
Frederick D. Myers, missing, Macon, Ga., August 3, 1864.
Harvey Mann, died of disease, Nashville, Tenn., June 27, 1865.
Amos B. Billings, mustered out September 22, 1865.
John E. Hodges, mustered out September 22, 1865.

COMPANY G.
James McGin, mustered out October 10, 1865.
George Raymond, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Uriah S. Streeter, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Joel F. Terrell, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Wm. H. Williams, mustered out September 18, 1865.
George 0. Sabin, mustered out June 13, 1865.

27

Jerome Townsend, mustered out June 13, 1865.

Yalentine P. Wise, mustered out May 23, 1865.

John M. Taylor, mustered out June 10, 1865.

Alex. Depeal, mustered out June 10, 1865.

John Dedrick, mustered out September 22, 1865.

Peter Fishel, mustered out September 30, 1865.

Martin Dana, killed at Henryville, Tenn., November 23, 1864.

Israel Touns, died of disease at Camp Nelson, Ky., May 3, 1865.

John D. Wise, died of disease at Pulaski, Tenn., January 31, 1865.

Alonzo Wise, died of disease at Louisville, Ky., February 24, 1865.

George W. Lee, discharged for disability September 24, 1863.

Christopher Ulyatt, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps May 1, 1864.

COMPANY H.
Wm. H. Gardner, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Amos E. Andrews, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Louis Bretchell, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Damon Haberstrat, mustered out September 27, 1865.
Eli Rimer, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Orlo Sturdevant, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Richard Talbot, mustered out September 22, 1865.

COMPANY I.

James Allen, mustered out September 22, 1865.
William E. Bailey, mustered out September 22, 1865.
John A. Copeland, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Luther Dibble, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Wm. H. Filson, mustered out September 22, 1865.
David A. Foley, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Edward R. Mott, mustered out September 22, 1865.
John V. Rich, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Patrick Whalan, mustered out September 22, 1865.
John F. Cogswell, mustered out August 11, 1865.
James A. Clark, mustered out September 22, 1865.
John Case, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Chas. E. Cushing, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Geo. A. Dixon, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Christopher Hoag, mustered out September 22, 1865.

COMPANY K.

John Hunter, mustered out September 22, 1865.
John Harvey, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Thomas V. Gordon, mustered out September 22, 1865.
John A. Pitts, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Chas. E. Wheeler, mustered out September 22, 1865.
John H. Ballis, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Levi Paddock, mustered out July 16, 1865.

COMPANY L.
Daniel Filkins. mustered out June 10, 1865.
Wight H. Garrison, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Benj. F. Gaekcll, mustered out May 16, 1865.
Geo. M. Garrison, mustered out June 10, 1865.
W. H. Hendershott, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Wm. H. Hungerford, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Chas. M. Hendershott, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Geo. Lincoln, discharged for disability August 17, 1865.
Oliver Potter, discharged by order.
John D. Dickerson, mustered out September 22, 1865.
Lamon Griggs, missing November 25, 1864.
Robt. E. Hendershott, killed at Duck River, Tenn., November 28, 1864.

COMPANY M.
Warren Pratt, died of disease at Andersonville, Ga., December 20, 1864.
Geo. H. Mason, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., December 27, 1864.
James Kinney, died of disease at Edgefield, Tenn., April 4, 1865.
Zacharias Mellville, killed by explosion of steamer on Mississippi river

April 15, 1865.
Albert Smith, died of disease at Camp Douglas, 111., February 5, 1866.
Chas. Whitehead, missing on raid to Macon, Ga., August 3, 1864.
G. H. Waggoner, mustered out June 17, 1865.
William H. Atkinson, mustered out June 10, 1865.
John A. Butler, mustered out May 17, 1865.
James C. Bosworth, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Miner A. Bush, mustered out June 10, 1865.
David Braysham, mustered out June 10, 1865.
George M. Booth, mustered out May 12, 1865.
Charles L. Clary, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Eli Cushman, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Elijah Cone, mustered out June 10, 1865.
George W.Davis, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Alexander Forbes, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Kenzie Kimmel, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Chas. E. Leach, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Samuel H. Maybee, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Charles Mann, mustered out June 10, 1865.
Andrew J. Russell, mustered out June 10, 1865.
William Snell, mustered out June 10, 1865.
George Whitmill, mustered out June 13, 1865.
Samuel L. Weaver, mustered out June 13, 1865.

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Edgar Sprague, died at Macon, Ga., May 21, 1865.

NINTH MICHIGAN CAVALEY.

Lieut. Cory don S. Chapman.

COMPANY A.
Benoni H. Culter, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Jan. 15, 1864.

COMPANY B.

Jos. V. Peasley, died of disease at Marietta, Ga., August 15, 1864.

COMPANY E.
Wm. H. Lines, discharged for disability June 14, 1865.

COMPANY H.
Mathias Van Tassall, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Jan. 15, '64.
Henry E. Skinner, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Jan. 15, 1864. *
Robt. Kimball, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Jan. 15, 1864.
Eli Jamp, mustered out July 21, 1865.
Ephraim Allen, mustered out July 21, 1865.
Geo. Brum, mustered out July 21, 1865.

COMPANY L.
Francis Bower, mustered out July 21, 1865.
Lieut-Col. Sullivan P. Brockway, mustered out July 22, 1865.
1st Lieut. Robt. J. Frost, mustered out July 22, 1865.

TENTH MICHIGAN CAVALEY.
COMPANY B.
Henry H. Stewart, mustered out November 11, 1865.
COMPANY G.

Geo. B. Hudson, mustered out November 11, 1865.
David H. Kimball, mustered out November 11, 1865.
Anson B. Smith, mustered out November 11, 1865.
Albert Wells, mustered out November 11, 1865.

COMPANY K.
Wm. C. Heath, mustered out November 11, 1865.
John Van Orman, mustered out November 11, 1865.

COMPANY M.
Albert H. Brown, mustered out November 11, 1865.
Michael Baker, mustered out November 11, 1865.
Henry C. Oldfield, mustered out November 11, 1865.
John W. Hickox, mustered out November 11, 1865.

ELEVENTH MICHIGAN CAVALEY.

Lieut.-Col. J. B. Mason, died of wounds received in battle at Clinch

Mountain, October 4, 1864.
Capt. David W. Phillips.
Lieut. Newell H. Rawlingoon.
Lieut. Francis J. Lewis.

COMPANY A.
Hoyt Hensharr, killed at Mt. Sterling, Ky., June 9, 1864.
John M. Wellor, killed at Marion, Va., December 22, 1864.
Burnes Townsend, died of disease at Lexington, Ky., January 11, 1864.
Wm. H. Williams, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
James M. Rice, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Wm. Burns, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Herbert B. Chapman, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
John Dedrick, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Peter Fishell, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Jas. McGin, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Geo. Raymond, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Geo. 0. Sabin, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Uriah Streeter, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Joel Terrill, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Jerome Townsend, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Edward G. Champeau, discharged by order August 10, 1865.
Charles Otto, mustered out May 15, 1865.
Eugene C. Snider, mustered out June 15, 1865.

COMPANY C.
Albert A. Smith, mustered out June 5, 1865.

COMPANY D.
Gratton H. Wagner, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.

COMPANY E.
Perry Ramplin, killed at Kingston, Tenn., March 6, 1864.

COMPANY F.
Capt. D. D. Buck, major October 4, 1864; mustered out with regiment.
1st lieut. Thomas H. Jennings, capt. Oct. 4, 1864 ; must, out with reg.
2d lieut. John H. Harris ; promoted 1st lieut. Oct. 4, 1864 ; killed at

Macon, Ga., December 19, 1864.
1st lieut. Edwin Robbins, resigned November 9, 1861.
Charles Douglass, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
James Drumgel, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
George A. Dixon, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
John Hunter, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
John Harney, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavaly.
Thomas I. Jordan, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Hiram B. Kare, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
John A. Pitts, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Levi Paddock, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Richard Quick, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Charles E. Wheeler, transferred. to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
John Conroy, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
James H. Spears, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
John L. Chafer, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
John H. Coggswell, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
James J. Baker, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Jonathan Casada, discharged for promotion.
Nathan S. Wood, discharged by order September 6, 1865.
William A. Burnstool, discharged by order June 30, 1865.
Anson I. Beckley, mustered out May 17, 1865.
William A. Dell, discharged by order August 10, 1865.
Ed. Westfall, killed at Cynthiana, Kentucky, June 12, 1864.
Jonathan Deans, died of disease at Lexington, Kentucky, Jan. 20, 1864.
William G. Bird, died of disease at Lexington, Kentucky, Aug. 23, 1864.
Lewis A. Canfield, died at Saltville, Virginia, of wounds, Jan. 10, 1864.
Eldridge Peck, died at Cattrellville, Virginia, of wounds, Jan. 7, 1864.
Chris. Hoag, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
William W. Crowfoot, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Orville Harris, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Peter Corby, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
James A. Clark, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
George W. Corby, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Charles H. Hitchcock, discharged by order August 10, 1865.

210

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

Hiram Bradley, discharged by order August 10, 1865.
William Dalton, discharged by order August 10, 1865.
Charles H. Greenleaf, mustered out September 29, 1865.
William B. Hamilton, discharged by order July 17, 1865.
George W. Austin, discharged for disability January 6, 1865.
Edward G. Hume, discharged by order August 10, 1865.
Thomas McCormick, discharged by order August 10, 1865.
Robert Reed, mustered out May 29, 1865.
James P. Taylor, discharged by order August 10, 1865.
George W. Davis, discharged by order August 30, 1865.

COMPANY G.
Caleb Manchester, mustered out June 16,1865.
Daniel Reynolds, discharged by order July 16, 1865.
Edward Simpson, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.

COMPANY I.
Perry Abbott, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Warren M. Cooley, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.

COMPANY K.

Peter Twomley, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.

COMPANY L,

Edward Woodruff, discharged for disability February 19, 1864.
Philetus Nichols, died of disease at Mt. Sterling, Ky., Nov. 13, 1864.
Orville V. Percy, discharged for disability June 20, 1865.

COMPANY M.
Edward M. Fink, transferred io 8th Michigan Cavalry.
James A. Blanchard, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.
Edwin Brad way, transferred to 8th Michigan Cavalry.

COMPANY — .
2d lieut. Benjamin F. Davis, died in action at Marion, Va., Dec. 18, 1864.

Surgeon S. B. Thayer.

'MERRILL HORSE.'

COMPANY A.

Collins S. Lewis, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Adelbert Holland, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Lewis O. Jarvis, discharged to re-enlist as "veteran.
James M. Flogg, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Andrew S. Anson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Henry Hines, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Charles E. Smith, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.

COMPANY B.
Michael Burke, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.

COMPANY C.
James Paul, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5,1864.
Samuel Baire, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.

COMPANY F.
Timothy H. Millard, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Montgomery S. Woodruff, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.

COMPANY G.
Spe ncer W. June, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Alexander Judd, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.

COMPANY H.
Captain Jabez Rogers, major, May 28, 1863.
1st lieutenant Legrand Stillson, mustered out.

1st lieut. Gregory ; wounded.

2d lieut. Geo. H. Rowell; 1st lieut. May 1, 1863; captain.
Samuel Pugsley, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864, mus-
tered out September 19, 1865.
Charles H. Burch, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Walter Decker, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864, mus-
tered out September 19, 1865.
D. G. Harrington, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Luther Holeman, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Edgar Cross, discharged to re-enlist as veteran March 1, 1864, died of dis-
ease in Michigan November 3, 1864.

Bryant Falkaw, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Le Roy Fish, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864, mus-
tered out September 19, 1865.

David E. Otis, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

John L. Livermore, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Lester C. Spaulding, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Samuel E. Baird, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

John R. Wilson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Horton H. Coleman, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,
mustered out September 19, 1865.

Russell Day, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864, mustered
out September 19, 1865.

Wm. H. Conklin, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Jerome F. Markham, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

James E. Mason, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

L. Samuel La Rue, discharged to re- enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

George Shephard, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Allen W. Avery, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Lewellyn E. Dwinnell, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Jan. 5, 1864.

Fred H. Cole, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Stephen S. Drake, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

William M. Georgia, died of disease in Memphis, Tenn., March 10, 1865.

Caius R. Gibbs, died of disease in Nashville, Tenn., January 11, 1865.

George W. McNary, died of disease in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 15, 1865.

Robert H. Baird, died of disease in Michigan December 4, 1864.

Edward Funnell, died of wounds received at Memphis July 18, 1862.

Miles R. Sherman, died of wounds received at Memphis July 18, 1862.

John Bullis, discharged for disability February 22, 1862.

Charles Nichols, died of disease at Sturgeon August 18, 1862.

Jirah D. Buch, discharged for disability November 11, 1861 .

Peter Van Vleck, discharged for disability March 10, 1862.

J. C. Bevier, discharged for disability April 18, 1862.

William H. Bordine, discharged for disability October 6, 1861.

S. H. Campbell, discharged for disability February 20, 1862.

Christopher Dilworth, discharged for disability March 22, 1862.

Heary L. Davis, discharged for disability October 30, 1861.

E. P. Farnsworth, discharged for disability July 1, 1862.

George C. Hicks, discharged for disability October 24, 1861.

Bazile Harrison, discharged for disability.

R. E. Jackson, discharged for disability October 30, 1861.

Jacob C. Molt, discharged for disability February 15, 1862.

Seymour Newton, discharged for disability October 30, 1861.

Nelson W. Eastman, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Dec. 15, 1863.

Nehemiah Chilson, discharged at expiration of service Sept. 9, 1864.

D. G. Harrington, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Nelson J. Kelsey, discharged for promotion December 6, 1864.

Allen Avery, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Charles S. Andrews, mustered out September 19, 1865.

William H. Conklin, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Albert Dickerson, discharged by order August 15, 1863.

Stephen S. Drake, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Hiram J. Johnson, discharged for disability October 31, 1861.

Samuel F. La Rue, discharged by order July 21, 1865.

James Mason, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Jerome Markham, mustered out September 19, 1805.

George Shepherd, mustered out September 19, 1865.

John Wilson, mustered out September 19, 1865.

J. G. Chilson, discharged at expiration of service November 7, 1864.

W. J. Burges, discharged for disability July 1, 1862.

William Gregg, discharged for disability April 27, 1863.

Benjamin F. Brownell, discharged at expiration of service March 5,1865.

Alonzo Bruce, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Marshall M. Bloom, mustered out September 19, 1865.

John Gilmore, discharged at expiration of service March 5, 1865.

Jesse Kissenger, discharged at expiration of service March 5, 1865.

Richard A. Watkins, discharged at expiration of service Feb. 28, 1865.

David G. Otis, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Henry S. Ryan, discharged at expiration of service March 5, 1865.

S. B. Stoddard, discharged by order July 21, 1865.

Amos Stevens, discharged at expiration of service April 5, 1865.

William Burger, discharged for disability July 1, 1865.

John E. Tozer, discharged at expiration of service April 5, 1865.

Edgett Isaac, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Frederick O. Andrews, discharged at expiration of service April 5, 1865.

Benjamin Anderson, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Wyatt R. Burch, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Geo. W. Frazier, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Eugene D. Gibbs, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Michael Harman, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Walter Herrington, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Dennis McAllister, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Eugene Weaver, discharged by order June 15, 1665.

Henry A. Clute, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

George L. Bennett, discharged by order May 30, 1865.

Duane Peck, discharged by order May 30, 1865.

Nelson Austin, mustered out September 19, 1865.

William M. Ball, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Henry Brownell, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Elijah J. Burch, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Charles Hendershott, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Frank L. Hughes, mustered out September 19, 1865.

James A. Kissenger, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Ahab Simons, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Adelbert J. Wicks, mustered out September 29, 1865.

Flavius J. Wilbur, mustered out September 29, 1865.

Marian J. Willison, mustered out September 29, 1865.

Thomas S. Bertram, discharged by order July 21, 1865.

James E. Bevier, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

George C. Hicks, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

COMPANY I.

Capt. James B. Mason ; resigned (lieut.-col. of 11th Mich Cav. ; killed).

1st. lieut. James B. Robinson : wounded ; resigned September 26, 1864.

2d lieutenant Kessey; wounded.

1st lieutenant Joseph B. Cessna.

2d lieutenant H. M. Rowe.

William R. Horton, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Charles H. Chase, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Warren G. Morehead, discharged at expiration of service Sept. 15, 1864.

Josiah H. Caldwell, mustered out September 19, 1865.

John M. Brown, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Albert H. Eaton, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Charles E. Miller, discharged at expiration of service Sept. 15, 1865.

Charles M. Pitcher, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Nathaniel Phillips, discharged at expiration of service Sept. 15, 1864.

William H. Rath, mustered out September 19, 1865.

William Stewart, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Daniel I. Thurston, mustered out September 19, 1865.

William Badger, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.

Charles H. Chase, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

William R. Horton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

John M. Brown, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

Josiah M. Caldwell, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.

John M. Gitchell, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,

mustered out September 19, 1865.
Henry Ingraham, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864,

mustered out September 19, 1865.
Henry T. Slingerland, discharged to re-enlist as vet'n January 5, 1865,

mustered out September 19, 1865.
Charles F. Walker, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1865.
William Stewart, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1865.
j Elijah Turner, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1865.
' James McGuire, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1865.

Daniel S. Turner, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 1, 1863,

mustered out September 19, 1865.
William V. Petty, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Truman Piper, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1863.
Zeno W. Bloss, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 10, 1863,

mustered out September 19, 1865.
George W. Pitcher, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Jannary 5, 1865.
Asahel G. Vannocker, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1865

mustered out September 19, 1865.
Carl A. Blanchard, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1865.
Chauncey W. Rickerd, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Jan. 5, 1865.
Ephraim B. Leach, died of disease, Memphis, Tenn., November 20, 1863.
Solomon V. Munge, died of disease, Little Rock, Ark., May 28, 1864.
Abel H. Rich, died of disease, Huntsville, Ark., July 29, 1864.
George J. Kirby, died of disease, Duvall's Bluff, Ark., August 14, 1864.
Moses B. Davis, discharged for disability February 11, 1864.
Simon Reed, discharged for disability January 9, 1863.
George A. Holly, transferred to V. R. C. February 15, 1864.
Henry Berry, died of disease, St. Louis, Mo., October 4, 1861.
Daniel W. Beck, died of disease, Fayette, Mo., March 28, 1862.
Daniel Dunn, died of disease, St. Louis, Mo., November 18, 1861.
Charles T. Stringham, discharged for disability April 11, 1862.
Samuel J. Miller, discharged for disability October 30, 1861.
Amos Wickard, discharged for disability January 13, 1862.
Joseph Jones, discharged for disability June 24, 1862.
Henry P. Bannon, discharged for disability December 23, 1861.
Earl W. Prior, discharged for disability March 26, 1862.
William Woodward, died of disease, Bollinger, Mo., June 6, 1863.
John A. Walker, killed at Memphis, Tenn., July 18, 1862.
Charles F. Walker, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Edwin P. Holt, discharged at expiration of service September 15, 1864.
Truman Piper, discharged for disability January 16, 1865.
Milo J. Gregg, discharged by order July 20, 1865.
William V. Petty, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
George Sutton, discharged at expiration of service April 7, 1865.
Samuel Hendricks, discharged by order July 1, 1865.
John C. Leroy, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Frederick Swartz, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Robert R. Talbot, mustered out September 19, 1865.
John H. Williams, mustered out September 19, 1865.
George Badger, mustered out May 22, 1865.

Hiram C. Mayne, discharged by order May 3, 1865.

Hiram V. Munger, mustered out September 19, 1865.

John R. Barker, mustered out September 19, 1865.

William H. Bennett, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Elias Calahan, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Leander B. Cook, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Eli H. Cummings, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Eli Decker, mustered out September 19, 1865.

William L. Gordon, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Lerry Fales, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

William Martin, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

John H. Mantles, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

John McLean, mustered out May 15, 1865.

James McGinn, discharged by order June 14, 1865.

George A. Smith, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Alonzo E. Southwick, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

William White, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

Isaac C. Williams, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Joseph C. Lewis, mustered out July 31, 1865.

George McCullum, discharged by order June 23, 1865.

James H. Lake, mustered out September 19, 1865.

M. J. Gilpin, discharged by order August 22, 1865.

Joseph C. Sternberg, mustered out September 19, 1865.

John R. Badger, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Samuel Bradley, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Delos Thurston, died of disease, Memphis, Tennessee, January 31, 1865.

William Woodward, died of disease, Rollinger, Missouri, June 6, 1863.

Edgar D. Prior, died of disease, Little Rock, Arkansas, October 3, 1863.

Elijah Turner, died of disease, Jeffersonville, Indiana, January 17, 1865.

Daniel W. Peck, died of disease, Fayette, Missouri, March 27, 1862.

George R. Hogan, died of disease, Chattanooga, Tenn., April 30, 1865.

Stephen Knowles, died of disease, Paducah, Ky., January 25, 1865.

Almond D. Austin, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Feb 21, 1865.

COMPANY L.
Captain Almon E. Preston, resigned August 19, 1864.
1st lieutenant Edwin J. Dickinson.
2d lieutenant Charles D. Root.

1st lieutenant Nathan J. Aiken, resigned March 16, 1862.
Martin Spencer, died of disease, Little Rock, Arkansas, Aug. 11, 1864.
John M. Fish, died of disease, Memphis, Tennessee, February 3, 1865.
Timothy H. Millard, died of disease, Duvall's Bluff, Ark., Dec. 6, 1864.
Jabez Smith, died of disease, Duvall's Bluff, Arkansas, August 11, 1864.
Augustus Thompson, died of disease, Helena, Arkansas, Aug. 4, 1863.
Ira Trude, died of disease, Warrenton, Missouri, April 11, 1863.
Lafayette Wolworth, died of disease, Duvall's Bluff, Ark., Sept. 3, 1863.
Moses Depue, died of disease, St. Louis, Missouri, January 1, 1862.
Horace B. Couch, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, Sept. 1, 1863.
George E. Stringham, mustered out September 19, 1865.
George L. Strong, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Stephen V. Strong, mustered out September 19, 1865.
John Templeton, discharged at expiration of service Sept. 20, 1863.
Brinson Wing, mustered out September 19, 1863.
Edwin H. Wood, discharged for disability May 26, 1863.
W. H. H. Willison, discharged by order July 13, 1865.
Samuel B. Wilder, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Charles Briggs, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Truman M. Quick, discharged by order June 23, 1865.
John M. Clark, mustered out September 19, 1865.
George Standley, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Leonard Bates, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
Albert Baker, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
John C. Coleman, discharged for disability March' 26, 1865.
Henry Chamberlain, discharged by order June 15, 1865.

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

211

David F. Canfield, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
George B. Davey, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
William H. Gitchell, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
Adelbert Kimball, discharged by order June 16, 1865.
Henry H. Larkins, discharged dishonorably May 4, 1865.
James B. Miller, discharged at expiration of service Sept. 15, 1865.
John E. Marshall, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
James H. Stale, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
Nathaniel Smith, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
George W. Schoolay, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
Daniel Snyder, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
Samuel C. Wells, discharged by order June 15, 1865.
Charles D. Herrington, discharged for disability, December 24,1864.
George H. Crozier, discharged by order May 19, 1865.
N. W. Lewis, discharged by order July 21, 1865.
Daniel Dubois, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Samuel Crawford, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Edwin H. Strong, mustered out September 19, 1865.
1 Allen C. Bayley, discharged for disability October 18, 1863.
James C. Arnold, mustered out September 19, 1863.
Albert J. Lickenby, mustered out September 19, 1863.
Charles C. Wade, mustered out September 19, 1863.
Benjamin F. Austin, discharged by order May 13, 1865.
Unas M. Bennett, mustered out September 19, 1865.
John Burr, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Peter Courtwright, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Albert C. Deremas, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Albert Griswold, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Albert Hoag, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Charles J. Harms, mustered out September 19, 1865.
William Hallam, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Charles Hitchcock, discharged at expiration of service Sept. 20, 1863.
Luther C. Johnson, mustered out September 19, 1865.
William W. Latta, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Osburn Lybacker, mustered out September 19, 1865.
George F. Morgan, discharged for disability August 13, 1863.
Williajm Quinn, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Oscar Spencer, discharged for disability August 17, 1863.
Schuyler Smith, mustered out September 19, 1865.
Joel Saunders, discharged for disability October 17, 1863.
Adam Clark, discharged for disability December 9, 1863.
John E. Swarts, discharged for disability April 14, 1864.
Thomas J. Cook, discharged for disability February 24, 1864.
Thomas Eaton, discharged for disability July 15, 1864.
George W. Farrington, transferred to V. R. C, May 1, 1864.
James McCormick, died of disease at Little Rock, Ark., Nov. 9, 1863.
Charles E. Wheeler, died of disease at Little Rock, Ark., Nov. 9, 1863.
Jacob Burr, died of disease at Waterrleet, Mich-., September 30, 1863.
Henry Hunt, died of disease at Little Rock, Ark., April 17, 1864.
James E. Harrison, died of disease at Little Rock, Ark., June 28, 1864.
Amos W. Arnold, died of disease at Little Rock, Ark., June 21, 1864.
Philip Demerest, died of disease at Little Rock, Ark., July 13, 1864.
James A. Nott, died of disease at Huntsville, Ark., September 4, 1864.
Albert Hoag, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
George P. Russell, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
William Laberteaux, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 5, 1864.
Eli S. Rhode, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Samuel Crawford, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Edwin H. Strong, discharged to re-enlist Us veteran.
James A. Nott, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
James G. B. Yan Brunt, discharged to re-enlist as veteran.
Charles Briggs, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 6, 1863.

FIRST REGIMENT LIGHT ARTILLERY.

BATTERY A.

Harrison Perkins, mustered out July 28, 1865.

BATTERY B.

Tillason C. Daniel, mustered out June 14, 1865.

Marcus Hall, died of disease at St. Louis, Mo., January 14, 1862.

BATTERY C.
Samuel Gladden, mustered out June 22, 1865.
Christian Staffer, discharged by order February 8, 1865.

BATTERY D.

Nelson Strong, mustered out August 3, 1865.

William H. Lovell, mustered out August 3, 1865.

Ethan D. Starks, mustered out.

Lyman Lovell, died of disease at Murfreesboro, Tenn., September 26, '64.

BATTERY E.
William Brown, discharged for disability January 10, 1863.
William C. Cook, discharged for disability July 25, 1862.
Newton L. Chamberlain, discharged for disability November 10, 1862.
William Smith, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 30, 1863.
Francis M. Storms, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21,1863.
Matthias S. Trautmer, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 27, 1863.
James Upenneer, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 23, 1863.
Charles Versrtay, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 25, 1863.
Cornelius Versrtay, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 25, 1863.
Ira Versrtay, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 30, 1863.
Myron C. Wilkinson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, '63.
John E. Wilcox, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
George A.Williams, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, '63.
George M. Wilson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Jephtha Talady, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Burns Hollister, died of disease at Pea Ridge, Tenn., April 26, 1861.
Asahel C. Powers, died of disease at Evansville, Ind., July 14, 1862.
Selah Pegnot, died of disease at Louisville, Ky., June 27, 1862.
Henry Farrand, died of disease at Nashville, Tenn., 1862.
William McKenney, died of disease at Louisville, Ky., 1862.
John P. Day, died at Nashville, Tenn., of wounds, December 16, 1864.
John A. Faulkner, discharged for disability October 12, 1863.
Asa Alexander, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.

William Amos, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
William Buck, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Jersign Bunn, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863,

transferred to V. R. C. October 18, 1864.
William J. Cheeney, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 25, '63.
Oliver Cunningham, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 30, '63.
Adrian Denboer, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Burklay Felton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Osro Felton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Duncan Gilchrist, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Edmund B. Gildersleeve, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 21, 1863.
Wade P. Hard, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 31, 1863.
Arthur Hemsted, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 31, 1863.
Henry C. Hilton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 23, 1863.
Charles Jewett, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
William Kearney, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Jacob Lewis, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 30, 1863.
John Lewis, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 31,1863.
Francis McMann, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Thomas McMann, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
James McMillan'discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 30, 1863.
Joseph Mosher, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Andrew McRoberts, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863,

mustered out August 30, 1865.
Horatio D. Parks, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Joseph Quigley, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 27,1863.
Amos Randall, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 25,1863.
George W. Robinson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 21, 1863.
Ebenezer A. Shirley, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, '63.
Orrin N. Slaught, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 21, 1863.
Robert H. Runeliro,died of disease at Shiloh, Tenn., May 6, 1862.
Robert McRobert, died of disease at Corinth, Miss., May 31,1862.
William Wood, died of disease at Corinth, Miss., May 26, 1862.
Christopher C. Gillam, died of disease at Athens, Ala., July 4, 1862.
William A. Foot, died of disease at Tuscumbia, Ala., July 4, 1862.
William C. Cook, discharged for disability August 5, 1862.
George N. Cox, discharged for disability July 25, 1862.
James H. Crawford, discharged for disability August 15, 1862.
Alonzo Hill, discharged for disability July 8, 1862.
Thaddeus Verplank, discharged for disability June 27, 1862.
James Curry, discharged at expiration of service March 24, 1865.
Edmund B. Gildersleeve, mustered out August 3, 1865.
Wm. Hickling, mustered out August 30, 1865.
Spencer D. Miller, discharged for disability July 14, 1862.
Geo. McCullum, discharged for disability April 1, 1864.
Cyrus Mather, discharged for disability at Detroit, Mich.
Joseph Mosher, mustered out August 30, 1865.
Jack D. Parker, mustered out August 30, 1864.
Ebenezer A. Shirley, mustered out August 30, 1865.
Geo. A. Williams, mustered out August 30, 1865.
Wm. R. Webb, discharged at expiration of service January 19, 1865.
Henry Bynd, discharged at expiration of service April 9, 1865.
Jas. Robinson, mustered out August 30, 1865.
Jos. Robinson, mustered out August 30, 1865.

BATTERY F.
Benj. F. Rice, mustered out July 1, 1865.
Ansel Sturge, mustered out July 1, 1865.
John Rowley, mustered out July 1, 1865.

Chas. A. Sweet, discharged to accept commission in the 12th U. S. Col-
ored Heavy Artillery, September 13, 1864.

BATTERY G.
John G. King, discharged for wounds April 10, 1863.
Chas. Baker, discharged for disease September 8, 1863.
Lucius F. Boynton, discharged at expiration of service Jan. 28, 1865.
Somerfield A. E. Crawford, dis. at expiration of service Jan. 28, 1865.
Francis Granger, mustered out August 6, 1865.
John G. King, mustered out August 6, 1865.
Eugene Willson, mustered out August 6, 1865.
Robt. M. Gleason, mustered out August 6, 1865.

BATTERY M.
Chas. Butler, discharged at expiration of service March 31, 1865.
Sherman G. Eddy, mustered out August 1, 1865.
Geo. B. Grinnell, died of disease at Cumberland Gap, Tenn., Dec. 18, '64.

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Ralph B. Wallace, discharged August 28, 1865.

FOURTEENTH MICHIGAN BATTERY.

Chas. Hankins, discharged for disability May 22, 1864.

Chas. Barton, mustered out July 1, 1865.

Henry Lahrmann, mustered out July 1, 1865.

Christian Velker, mustered out July 1, 1865.

Conrad Bruckner, mustered out July 1, 1865.

John Crandall, mustered out July 1, 1865.

Mortimer Hulett, mustered out July 1, 1SG5.

Ralph R. Keeler, mustered out July 1, 1865.

Lathrop Van Orman, mustered out July 1, 1865.

Capt. Chas. Heine, discharged with battery July 1, 1865.

Sr. 1st lieut. B. Frank Sweet, discharged with battery July 1, 1865.

Sr. 2d lieut. Byron C. Elms, discharged with battery July 1, 1865.

Jr. 2d lieut. Carl Scheich, discharged with battery July 1, 1865.

2d lieut. Chas. H. Potter, December, 1863, but taken prisoner before

commission received, while a member of Co. M, 2d Cavalry, and

died in Savannah.

FIRST MICHIGAN SHARP-SHOOTERS.

Surgeon Thomas Eagleson.
Captain George C. Knight. Dead.
Lieutenant Martin Wager. Dead.
Lieutenant Michael Collins.
Captain George N. Davis.
Lieutenant Guy Newbre.
Friend D. Soules.

COMPANY A.
1st lieutenant Levant C. Ruiss ; captain; killed before Petersburg.
Eugen Ker Knickerbocker, died of dis. at Detroit, Mich., Mar. 8, 1863.
Arthur Buchanan, killed near Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864.
John Buchanan, killed near Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864.
Willard Davis, died at Washington of wounds July 12, 1864.
Michael B. Gleason, died at Washington of wounds July 12, 1864.
Irving Dill, killed near Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.
Silas Fegles, died of disease at Annapolis, Md., April, 1864.
Seaton Spencer, died of disease near Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864.
Samuel N. Fitch, died of disease near Petersburg, Va., August 13, 1864.
Myron Woodward, died of disease at City Point, Va., June 30, 1864.
James A. Preston, died of disease at Annapolis, Md., August 21, 1864.
Hiram Woodward, died of disease at Camp Douglas, 111., Jan. 24, 1864.
Milton Calkins, died of disease at Battle Creek, Mich., Oct. 17, 1864.
William Vickory, missing from picket at North Anna, Va., May 26,1864.
Engene K. Tompkins, missing from picket at North Anna, Va., May 26,

1864.
William H. Crandall, missing from picket at North Anna, Va., May 26,

1864.
John Beebe, missing from picket at North Anna, Va., May 26, 1864.
George Hough, missing near Petersburg, Va., January 17, 1864.
James A. Brown, missing near Petersburg, Va., January 17, 1864.
Henry Stephens, missing near Petersburg, Va., January 17, 1864.
Absalom Cargill, discharged for disability.
Harvey Davis, discharged for disability September 13, 1804.
Gilbert Davis, discharged for disability September 18, 1864.
Moses Buckley, died of disease on board of transport, March, 1865.
Chas. Van Brocklin, transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, Aug. 10, 1864.
John A. Dutcher, discharged for disability December 29, 1864.
Andrew P. Hines, mustered out July 28, 1865.
James V. Newman, mustered out May 24, 1865.
Willard A. Stale, mustered out May 24, 1865.
Arnott W. Carr, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Hiram P. Feagles, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Albert W. Jacobs, mustered out July 28, 1865.
• Edward S. Taylor, mustered out July 28, 1865.
William H. Buchanan, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Ambrose Calkins, mustered out September 7, 1865.
Samuel H. Campbell, discharged.
Simeon D. Carr, discharged July 10, 1865.
George E. Conley, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Samuel Davis, mustered out July 28, 1865.
John R. Detro, mustered out June 20, 1865.
Robert Fletchei', mustered out May 24, 1865.
William F. Forbes, mustered out July 26, 1865.
Harvey Harper, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Samuel Harper, discharged for disability October 14, 1864.
Marshall Hodges, mustered out June 30, 1865.
Otis Kimball, discharged December 18, 1865.
Squire Lapham, mustered out July 10, 1865.

Archibald M. Miller, discharged for disability November 14, 1864.
Martin W. Murray, mustered out July 28, 1865.
James H. Soules, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Oscar P. Soules, mustered out June 5, 1865.
Franklin W. Wright, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Willard Winslow, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Joseph L. Ashalter, mustered out July 28, 1865.
Alonzo Parks, mustered out June 14, 1865.
Miles Engle, mustered out July 28, 1865.
John S. Sanders, mustered out July 28, 1865.
William H. Crandell, mustered out July 28, 1865.
John Harper, mustered out July 28, 1865.

COMPANY B.

Albertus Andrus, missing near Petersburg, Virginia, July 30, 1864.
George H. Saxton, mustered out July 28, 1865.

COMPANY D.

John A. Northrup, died of disease Camp Douglas, 111., Feb. 12, 1864.

John Mcintosh, died of disease Camp Douglas, 111., March 25, 1864.

Adoriram J. Lewis, died of disease Chicago, 111., January, 1864.

Adonelam S. Pettingill, died of disease in Michigan, October, 1864.

James H. Benjamin, killed near Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864.

Thomas Holmes, died at Washington, of wounds, June 9, 1864.

Warren M. Jackson', died at Alexandria, of wounds, June 4, 1864.

Charles D. Jackson, killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12,1864.

Noah Dick, killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864.

John W. Reed, died at Washington, of wounds, May 31, 1864.

Elisha Fowler, died at Spottsylvania, of wounds, May 9, 1864.

Edward F. Rogers, missing near Petersburg, Va., July 30, 1864.

Elisha Fowler, missing near Petersburg, Va., July 30, 1864.

Oliver Byington, discharged for disability.

James H. Peek, died of disease, Andersonville, Ga., August 30, 1864.

Alva Fordham, died of disease, Andersonville, Ga., September 15, 1864.

Samuel G. Ellis, died of disease at Danville, Va.

Samuel B. Knight, died of disease at Newton, Mich., May, 1865.

Otis Sylvester, died of disease at Andersonville, Ga.

James H. Edmunds, died of disease at Washington, D. C.

Horton M. Squires, transferred to Veteran Reserve Corps Aug. 10, 1864.

David G. Grunt, transferred to 7th Cavalry June 27, 1863.

William H. Bates, mustered out June 30, 1865.

Edward F. Rogers, mustered out Juno 29, 1865.

Charles H. Young, mustered out July 11, 1865.

Henry P. Bannon, discharged for disability.

Peleg A. Briggs, mustered out July 28, 1865.

Zenas Brott, mustered out August 23, 1865, from Vet. Reserve Cavalry.

George H. Counterman, mustered out.

Abram Dubois, mustered out September 19, 1865.

Edward Dumphrey, mustered out July 28, 1865.

John Easy, mustered out July 28, 1865.

Stillman Goif, mustered out June 13, 1865.

William R. Howland, discharged for disability January 31, 1865.

Thomas Lewis, mustered out July 28, 1865.

Geo. Slone, mustered out July 28,1865.

212

HISTORY OF CALHOUN COUNTY, MICHIGAN.

William Woods, mustered out August 14, 18G5.

William C. Holmes, mustered out August 14, 1865.

Lowell Davis, discharged.

Albert Strout, discharged.

Charles Curtis, discharged.

George Thayer, mustered out June 22, 1865.

Henry Eeed, mustered out July 28, 1865.

Wm. A. Ireland, mustered out July 22, 1865.

John Spooner, mustered out July 28, 1865.

Isaac B. Willett, discharged for disability June 2, 1865.

George W. Fry, mustered out.

COMPANY E.
Justin Holcomb, discharged June 2, 1865.

Mason W. Sutherland, died of disease, Annapolis, Md., March 17, 1864.
Charles Sutherland, died of disease, Salisbury, N. C, January 26, 1864.

COMPANY F.<
Frederick Williams, missing near Petersburg, Virginia, June 30, 1864.
Thos. Blake, missing, September 30, 1864.

Richard Freleigh, killed at Spottsylvania, Virginia, May 12, 1864.
W T m. W. Whitbeck, died of disease, Camp Douglas, 111., Feb. 10, 1864.
Dexter Etheridge, mustered out June 2, 1865.
Joseph Fish, discharged for disability December 29, 1864.
William Little, discharged by order G. C. M.
Wesley C. Williams, mustered out July 28, 1865.
James A. White, mustered out July 28, 1865.
George W. Ingram, mustered out June 3, 1865.

COMPANY G.

John Banta, discharged by order July 11, 1865.

Harvey M. Evans, discharged for disability November 8, 1863.

Albert Smith, killed near Petersburg, Virginia, April 2, 1865.

COMPANY H.
Samuel Taylor, killed, Spottsylvania, Virginia, May 12, 1864.
Byron Edmunds, died of disease at Andersonville, Ga., Sept. 9, 1864.
Philo R. Smith, mustered out July 11, 1865.
William H. Darling, mustered out July 28, 1865.

NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF.
Goodwin S. Beaver, died of disease, Carver hospital, June 28, 1865.
A. J. Pittingill, died of disease at Washington.

FIRST REGIMENT UNITED STATES SHARP-SHOOTERS.

COMPANY C.
Edwin E. Edmunds, died of disease January 6, 1862.
Elisha L. Devinney, discharged for disability January 20, 1862.
Charles Haberstick, dismissed from service December 21, 1861.
Jerome Warner, discharged for disability January 6, 1862.
Orson E. Sturtevant, died of disease at Washington, October, 1862.
Frank H. Edgerton, killed at Spottsylvania, Virginia, May 14, 1864.
Jas. Heath, killed near Petersburg, Virginia, June 16, 1864.
Henry A. Miller, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 2, 1864.
Jas. Heath, discharged to re-enlist as veteran January 2, 1864.
Sidney B. Bean, discharged to re-enlist as veteran March 30, 1864.

SIXTY-SIXTH ILLINOIS INFANTRY (WESTERN
SHARP-SHOOTERS).

COMPANY D.
Frederick Kurtz, died of disease November 18, 1861.

Chas. H. Millard, died of disease March 2, 1862.

Thos. D. Atkinson, discharged for disability May 10, 1862.

Andrew Barringer, discharged for disability February 5, 1862.

Chas. Billington, discharged for disability April 8, 1862.

Timothy Millard, discharged for disability July 26, 1862.

Geo. M. Baldwin, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 23, 1863.

Lorenzo A. Baker, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 23, 1863,

mustered out July 7, 1865.
Thos. E. Gleeson, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 23, 1863,

died Nov. 7, 1864, of wounds received July 22, 1864.
Wm. H. Ogden, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 23, 1863,

mustered out July 7, 1865.
Chas. H. Smith, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 23, 1863,

mustered out July 7, 1865.
Geo. W. Thornton, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 23, 1863,

mustered out July 7, 1865.
Jno. W. Van Brocklin, discharged to re-enlist as veteran Dec. 23, 1863,

mustered out July 7, 1865.
Michael Whalen, discharged to re-enlist as veteran December 23, 1863.
William E. Chambers, died at Atlanta, Ga., August 9, 1804.
James Perry, transferred to Co. H.
William J. Bennett, mustered out July 7, 1865.
Cornelius McCormick, mustered out July 7, 1865.
Andrew Huston, mustered out July 7, 1865.

ONE HUNDRED AND SECOND REGIMENT UNITED
STATES COLORED TROOPS.

COMPANY A.
Alexander Johnson, died at Beaufort, S. C, Dec. 22, 1864, of wounds.
Lewis Banks, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Wellington Johnson, mustered out September 30, 1865.
David Young, mustered out September 30, 1865.
John Boyd, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Wm. H. Butler, mustered out September 30, 1865.

COMPANY B.

Samuel F. Jackson, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Edwin Heatbcock, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Weston Walters, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Albert Wilson, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Geo. A. Clark, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Wm. R. Evans, mustered out September 30, 1865.

COMPANY C.
James L. Brown, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Martin V. Brown, discharged for disability June 16, 1865.
James Robinson, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Jacob W. James, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Joseph Johnson, mustered out September 30, 1865.

COMPANY D.
Jonathan McGee, mustered out September 30, 1865.

COMPANY F.
John Bobbins, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Henderson Simpson, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Robert Clark, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Nathan Sand, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Geo. Tucker, mustered out September 30, 1805.

COMPANY G.
Allison Berry, died of disease at Beaufort, S. C, October 8, 1864.
Benj. J. Clark, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Geo. E. Washington, discharged for wounds, June 16,1865.
Wm. A. Rix, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Norman William, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Wm. H. Butcher, discharged by order December 14, 1865.
John Tate, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Jonah Vick, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Hiram Vick, mustered out September 30, 1865.
John H. Clark, orderly sergeant, mustered out September 30,1865.
Rufus K. Felton, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Lewis Allen, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Richard Hord, mustered out September 30, 1865.
John Harrison, mustered out September .30, 1865.
Edward Shepard, mustered out September 30, 1865.
William Wilson, discharged by order October 30, 1865.
John Harris, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Fletcher Young, mustered out September 30, 1865.

COMPANY H.

Geo. W. Henderson, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Harry Grayson, discharged for disability June 8, 1865.
Artis Kinchen, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Andrew Ford, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Joseph Rutherford, mustered out September 30, 1865.
J. Cooper Scott, mustered out September 30, 1865.
David Strother, discharged for disability June 7, 1865.
William Varnum, mustered out September 30, 1865.
John Williams, mustered out September 30, 1865.

COMPANY K.

Valentine Grant, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Sidney Dean, mustered out September 30, 1865.
Orison Grant, mustered out September 30, 1865.

UNITED STATES NAVY, GUNBOAT SERVICE.

Thomas N. Wright, discharged at expiration of service.
Serl S. Dunn, discharged at expiration of service.
Orlando Pratt, discharged at expiration of service.
Chas. B. Moore, discharged at expiration of service.
Alonzo S. Moore, discharged at expiration of service.
Thomas Van Buren, discharged at expiration of service.
Frank Putnam, discharged at expiration of service.
Le Grand B. Dean, discbarged at expiration of service.

UNITED STATES REGULAR ARMY.

George Woodruff (graduate of West Point), killed at Gettysburg, in
command of Company A, 1st United States Artillery (Rickett's
Battery, Mexican War, formerly commanded by Magruder). He
was brevetted as captain, major, and lieutenant-colonel, for meri-
torious action on the field.

CALHOUN MEN NOW IN UNITED STATES SERVICE.

Lieutenant Hinman, of Battle Creek, Engineer Corps; orderly sergeant
United States Infantry (five years, and now serving second term).
Lieutenant John P. Merrill, Marshall, United States Navy.
Ensign Fred. Tyler, Marshall, United States Navy.
Midshipman Porter D. Haskell, Marshall, United States Navy.

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